The Strength of Humanity
by InsomniacLullabies
Summary: Cashile Kuroki has discovered the Frailty of Genius, the shortcomings of prodigious talent, the weakness that comes with strength. Standing alone she fell, with no one to catch her as she hit the ground. Now the question is whether can grow from her own failure, find resilience in weakness, foster the power that comes with those who care... And discover The Strength of Humanity.
1. Prologue

Everything hit me like a wrecking ball.

Including the actual wrecker's ball, which was aimed skillfully towards me.

My first instinct was to dodge, then I observed the chains the stretched out my limbs, restraining my movements tightly.

Air choked out of my lungs as the heavy metal ball pushed into my gut, hitting the exact spot where I'd recently been forced to stab myself.

On the bright side, team 7 would assume that I had stabbed myself to stop myself.

To save them.

They would assume I was the hero, so that when I escaped my captors, I would be welcomed back in the best views from everyone.

Me sacrificing myself to save them? I almost laughed at the mere thought. But then uncontrollable coughs racked up my body as pain exploded through my abdomen.

I gritted my teeth, dealing with it. This was nothing compared to what Ibiki had put me through... Ibiki... He was probably laughing his ass off about how I had "sacrificed' myself for my team.

Cause it is _such_ a believable story.

I glanced up at my captors. They had caught me off guard, but now that I was awake, my brilliance would outshine their dim witted heads all put together.

There were two of them. A male and a female.

The man caught the metal ball that had bounced off my chest. His look wasn't sinister, more impatient. The woman held power, I could sense her presence indirectly influencing the male captor. She blinked slowly, watching me as though she had all the time in the world.

"Enough." The woman spoke, her sharp grey eyes piercing daggers into my own eyes.

I raised my eyebrow, questioning and also challenging.

The man grunted in displeasure. So he liked to inflict pain on others. The woman shot him a sharp look and he immediately went emotionless. Interesting.

Getting a read on these people were just too easy. Now I just had to figure out what they wanted with me, and then I could plan an efficient escape that would guarantee my freedom from these idiots.

I subtly tested the restraints the held me vulnerable to these people. They were tight, I couldn't do it on my own. I could manipulate someone else into doing it for me though.

"Child of Raidon," The man started. I perked my head up in confusion.

Raidon?

"Silence." The woman commanded, looking superiorly down at me. Her eyes caught even the slightest movement. "She is no one's child. She is no one. She is nothing. Do not dare interact with her as if she is. It will interfere with her training. She is a weapon, at our disposal. Treat her as such. Do I make myself clear?"

The man lowered his eyes in a subservient manner. "Yes, my lady."

"Good. The Phoenix will rise again Riyuji. And on that day, it will be risen under my command."

I assessed her as well as my situation. She held power, so she could back up her words. But her power mostly connected with the people who followed her, who fought for their cause. She maneuvered easily and manipulated well, pulling and weaving strings in a perfect picture.

In other words, we were much alike.

If I could somehow work in her favor, or even use my own powers of manipulation to turn her army against her...

I could escape.

They couldn't break me.

I would have to try.

Oh God. Oh God. _OhGodohGodohGodohGodohGod_.

I would be screaming the words, but my throat had long since been damaged beyond the point of any noise escaping.

The woman was completely vulnerable and I was unchained, but I couldn't do anything to attack. I couldn't do anything except concentrate on the smallest trickle of air bubbling through my throat and hope that it wouldn't cease. My cheek was pressed into the floor and I was eye to eye with my dismembered pinky.

"You'll have to reattach her finger," I hear the woman's voice float past me, "I don't want it to interfere with her functionality."

My breath stutters and I'm not sure if I'm praying for it to stop and let me die or if I still cling to the skin of this life, fighting for survival.

A small, pitiful, inhuman noise escapes my torn lips as I'm yanked upright by my long pigtails. The flap of skin that once covered my right cheek falls open and away from the muscle, igniting new levels of pain in my already battered body. I know, I _know_ that eventually it would be healed, leaving a scar but not a disability, but that didn't help any.

"Who are you?" The man growls, shaking me slightly.

I feel each cut, each exposed, raw burn, the throbbing stump that was once my pinky, the swollen mass of flesh that was once my eye, the chapped and torn lips that once made such _stupid_ , sarcastic responses, feel the broken leg and sprained ankle and dislocated toe and missing fingernails and toenails and something inside of me dies.

As the realization overcomes me a tear slips out of my one functional eye, stinging my destroyed cheek as the salty water made contact. I open my mouth, and it takes a while to work the sentence from my raw throat.

"I... Am... Nothing."

Heyyyy.

Wow. This is it. We've finally posted the sequel.

Do you like the cover? I made it myself (as I do all my covers lol). This is one of my absolute favorite covers so far though. I dunno, there's just something about it I really really like. What do you guys think? Like it? Don't like it?

Btw I do make covers for anyone who requests it. I just ask that you let people know it was me who made the cover. A follow is nice and always appreciated but by no means do I ask for any payment other than credit.

ANYWHO.

What do you guys think? Rather short, so we'll try to get the first chapter out as soon as possible. Comments help with motivation!

Well, I sincerely hope you enjoyed this prologue. Fanart is lovely: just PM us for any details on how to send it to us!

Alrighty then!

Comment comment comment!

gaara119

Alright! You guys have no idea how excited I've been to post this prologue! We know you guys have been waiting, and thank you for your patience! I really hope we lived up the expectations you guys have for this sequel and more!

What do you think about Cashile? I know, the descriptions of her injuries make me flinch too. (MUAHAHA I made my writing partner flinch ~gaara119) But alas, it had to happen, this torture involves strong methods.

ANYWHO

fan, vote, comment! Encourage us to post chapter 1 if you liked this prologue!

Thanks again!

-S

Comment, Vote and Fan!

Ja ne!

Insomniac_Lullabies


	2. Chapter One - The Claw

Kakashi paused in his sprint when the masked figure dropped in front of him. He studied the figure. It had armor slightly similar to the samurai further up north, but tighter, made so movement would be unencumbered. There was an emotionless mask covering the face of what Kakashi now inferred was an assassin.

He scanned the assassin further, spotting the throwing knives in the leather sash and the blades on both hips. There would definitely be many other weapons hidden out of sight. The assassin was on the smaller side, lithe, catlike. Kakashi would have the advantage of his bulk in a fight.

His observations were finished in a split second, almost as soon as they began. He remained relaxed, not conveying the sudden tension he felt or show how a kunai was half a second away from leaping into his hand.

The blank faced assassin's gaze bored into Kakashi's eyes. "The Jōshō Houou has sentenced you to die," the assassin intoned.

That's when it clicked in Kakashi's mind. " _You're_ the Tsume!" He exclaimed, "You're the Claw of the Phoenix, the S ranked assassin in the Bingo Book!"

The Claw said nothing, mask hiding emotions, if there were any. The only response to Kakashi's exclamation was to slide two blades into waiting hands. Kakashi's only response to that was to raise his headband, revealing the sharingan.

"The Jōshō Houou has sentenced you to die," the Claw repeated emotionlessly.

"And what gives them the power to say who lives and who dies?" Kakashi spat back. "What gives _you_ the power?"

Old grudges appeared evident on Kakaki's face, his last memories of confrontation with the Phoenix popping into his mind.

His chest closed up, thinking of the student he'd lost in that fight. But he couldn't let her death be for nothing.

This was an opportunity to learn more about the organization. All that research within two years was finally paying up. This was what this mission was for, what _everything_ was for: researching The Rising Phoenix.

"The Jōshō Houou has sentenced you to die."

With that final statement, the assassin attacked. Kakashi was immediately on the defensive as the Claw came at him with everything it had. It moved inhumanly, twisting and bending at incredible speed with no regard to it's own safety, just completing the mission.

Kakashi disengaged, jumping back to catch his breath. "My first solo mission in a long time and I get attacked by an assassin. Just my luck," he griped.

The Claw had seemed to be breathing raggedly and was suddenly seized by a wracking cough. Kakashi tilts his head, curious as he watched the assassin collapse on one knee in the snow, shaking with the force of its coughs.

"You're sick," Kakashi observes. The Claw straightens, chest heaving. "They sent you out even though you were sick?"

"The... The Jōshō Houou has..." the assassin rasped.

"Yeah, yeah, sentenced me to die, I get it," Kakashi finished, feeling something akin to pity spark in his chest as he viewed the assassin. How old could the Claw be? 14? 15? Definitely no older than 18.

But then there was no time for pity and they were fighting again.

Kakashi swiped at the assassins face and the Claw was half a second late in blocking, reactions probably slowed by whatever sickness it had contracted. Kakashi's kunai dug into the mask and slashed it in half. The two pieces slowly fell off, one after another.

As soon as Kakashi sees the scarred face under the mask he makes a choking sound, stumbling backwards. Short and choppy black green hair ruffled in the slight wind and emotionless, empty black eyes bore into his.

"The Jōshō Houou has sentenced you to die," Cashile intoned.

"Cashile," Kakashi choked out, "But you... You were declared dead."

Kakashi couldn't help but flinch and look away at the sight of Cashile's scarred face. The most prominent was an ugly, long scar that warped her cheek, tugging the skin in towards the scar. How many more injuries did that armor cover?

"Who is Cashile?"

That one sentence tore Kakashi in half, much like the broken mask that lay forgotten in the snow. "You are," he whispers, "You were."

"I am the Tsume of the Houou. That is all I am. All I was. And all I ever will be."

The ominous message was slightly put off by the wracking cough and spew of blood that left Cashile's lips. "Oh God, Cashile, what have they done to you?" Kakashi asked, watching the girl with grief and horror.

Cashile, recognizing her own weakness, sent several knives spinning towards Kakashi. While he was busy she disappeared into the snow lined trees, springing away.

Without hesitation Kakashi disregarded his mission. It was delivering an expensive figurine to a rich family. That was the cover, at least. In reality, he was supposed to be investigating the Jōshō Houou. Nothing too risky, just poking around enough to understand the general size and reach of it.

Cashile definitely took precedence.

But Cashile hadn't left a trace or a trail. Kakashi suspected that she would also have figured out how to disguise her scent. So he was down to the basics.

He sniffed the air himself, listened, watched. Finally he spotted his first sign of which way Cashile had gone: a single pine needle resting on the otherwise spotless snow. Of course, any number of animals could have caused it, but it was all Kakashi had to go on.

And so he went.

It proved to be a good lead. Into the forest Kakashi saw a single drop of crimson staining a lower hanging branch. Soon he picked up a trail of sparse clues, few and far between, easy to miss.

At one point he discoverd the trail he's following is going in circles, and realized that whatever disease Cashile had must be messing with with her head. A fever, perhaps, could be muddling her thought process.

The thought scared Kakashi. If Cashile was this skilled, this hard to track when she was sick, then what could she do at full strength?

Kakashi could sense he was reaching the end of the trail. He spotted a puddle of blood melting into the snow, probably coughed or vomited up, and that's when the trail got messy and easy to track.

He realizes that she must have fallen out of the trees. The trail indicated that she was crawling. Kakashi had lost lots of time trailing her: up to an hour at least. He had no idea how long she had been crawling.

He finally spots her for the first time, collapsed in the middle of a clearing on her side. She had clearly been heading towards the most advantageous area for her to survive in a fight when she realized she was unable to escape.

But now she was unconscious, lips blue and half buried in the snow, completely and utterly helpless.

The sight of her still body is like a blow to the stomach. He wasn't prepared to see it, see _her,_ like this.

But he was a shinobi. Pushing back his emotions, Kakashi moved forward cautiously, making sure she was well and truly unconscious. Satisfied, he pulled out some ninja wire and began tying her ankles.

The best he could do is take her back to Konoha and hope she was still Cashile.

Kakashi froze when he felt the cold metal brush his throat. "Where am I?" Cashile hissed.

"I took all your weapons off of you," Kakashi said, shocked. "And I tied you up."

"I asked a question," she growled.

"We're just inside the boarder of Konoha," Kakashi replied slowly. He suddenly slammed his elbow into Cashile's stomach. To his surprise she didn't automatically double over, despite the fact that the wind had clearly been knocked out of her.

They both quickly sprung away from each other, and Kakashi frowned when he saw that her weapon had simply been a sharp rock.

"Where are my weapons?" She narrowed her eyes, "Do not lie to me."

"You seem scared," Kakashi noted conversationally, "Why? What are you scared of?" She didn't respond. "Me?" Kakashi could see the slightest flicker of disdain. "Not me then. Maybe it's... Them?"

Cashile's cheek twitched slightly, the clearest outward emotion Kakashi had yet seen. "Where are my weapons?"

she repeated, eyes flicking around, assessing the situation.

"Why are you scared of Them?" Kakashi asked.

"I will not fail my mission," was Cashile's only response.

"How about this," Kakashi edged forward slightly and Cashile immediately edged backwards. "Question for a question?"

"Quid pro quo?" Cashile asked, sounding more liked herself than ever, then immediately clutched the side of her head in pain.

"What was that?" Kakashi questioned.

"It does not matter," she wiped all emotion from her face easily, returning to her previous dead state. "I agree. Where are my weapons?"

"In my ninja pouch. Now, why're you scared of Them?"

"I have only once failed a mission. It did not happen again, and I do not intend to fail now," Cashile said shortly.

"That doesn't answer why you're scared of them," Kakashi challenged.

"It is... Not pleasant for me when I do not accomplish what they set me forth to do."

"So they hurt you if you fail?" Kakashi asked.

Cashile winced, a full body flinch that spoke volumes more than any answer would. "I believe that it is my turn to question you."

"Right," Kakashi nodded.

"How far have we travelled?"

Kakashi answered. "What's your mission right now?"

Cashile shut down more, if possible. "I am not to disclose details of current or past missions," she said.

"We had a deal," Kakashi reminded.

Cashile glanced to one side, before looking hesitantly back towards Kakashi. "I could be severely punished if They found out I disclosed any information to you."

Kakashi remained silent.

"I am to dispose of you as a message to Konoha to stop looking into The Rising Phoenix."

"Cashile..." Kakashi trailed off, knowing it's because he's afraid of the answer. "Do you know who I am?"

"You are Copy Ninja Kakashi, the Copy Cat Ninja, Kakashi of the Sharingan, Sharingan no Kakashi, Hero of the Sharingan, Cold-Blooded Kakashi, Friend-Killer Kakashi- and you are my target."

"But do you know- do you who I am- who I _was..._ to _you_?" Kakashi's voice broke slightly.

"My question," Cashile replied emotionlessly. The slightest gleam of curiosity exuded from her and she cocked her head slightly. "What... Why..." She looked frustrated for a moment, as though she didn't know quite how to phrase the question. "Who..."

"Who am I?" Kakashi asked gently.

Cashile nodded, looking much like a small child.

"I'm a sensei. I was your sensei once, actually," Kakashi said slowly, gauging her reaction. She seemed genuinely curious. "We were friends, sort of."

"Sort of?"

Kakashi allowed her the follow up question without hesitation. "I was the teacher, and you the student. Though more often we were like... Like arguing classmates."

"You lie," Cashile shook her head, "I am the Claw of the Phoenix. I have no past and no future. All there is is the mission."

"I think it's my turn for a question," Kakashi replied. "Why did you ask about me?" From what he'd gathered, she wasn't supposed to care about anything like that, just her orders and the mission. So why?

"I am... Different, than the other trainees. I feel... Curiosity. I... Question," Cashile explained slowly, each word falling from her mouth and dropping into the snow, muffled. "I am Broken."

Kakashi felt like crying.

This girl... What had brainwashed her into becoming such a.. a machine?

 _"Sorry I forgot to tell you guys," Kakashi gave a closed eyed smile, "This is your new teammate!"_

 _"What?!" Naruto looks as though he's been thrown straight into hell. Sakura smiles, seeming happy to have a friend and fellow female on the team. Sasuke simply rolled his eyes slightly, obviously disdainful of the newcomer's presence. Kakashi sighed. He would have to work on that ego of his_

 _Sasuke looks up, dark eyes flashing. "Doesn't she have to pass the test?"_

 _"I can put my own selfish interests aside and work as a team," Cashile said, smiling innocently at him, seeming to know what Kakashi's test consisted of, "I think I'd be able to pass the test."_

The flashback hit Kakashi like a punch to the stomach. Back then, when they first became a team, Cashile had been...

Well she'd been selfish. She'd been manipulative. She'd been sarcastic. She'd been _smart._

When Kakashi first met Cashile he had known she was broken. Well, he wouldn't go as far as to say broken, but all the same he was prepared to help her grow, shape her into a fine shinobi, see the fallacy in her views.

But now... She was _shattered_. Kakashi wasn't even sure she was still _Cashile_.

"I have taken far too long to complete my mission," Cashile murmured, "But perhaps if I still complete it and return they will not kill me. The punishment will be... Severe, but that is only to be expected. I failed to please them this mission, but there are always more."

Now that the mission hadn't gone as planned, now that Cashile had to think and adapt, she seemed more open to talking. Kakashi took a cautious step forward and was rewarded when she didn't take a step back.

"Couldn't you... Escape?" Kakashi asked.

Confusion lit her eyes. "...Escape?"

"Get away from your... Your _masters._ Never return," Kakashi tried to explain.

A look of pure horror appeared in Cashile's face. Fear of _Them_ seemed to be her only acceptable emotion,

"They would kill me in the most horrible and excruciating way. They would..."

There was glazed, haunted look that showed in her eye and then her face contorted in pain. She shivered violently. "I... I can never do that. The consequences if I were to be found.. Caught," she whispered. She gripped herself tightly, as though she were in pain. "I may be the best... The most promising... But one day they would send a Claw after me that I would not be able to beat."

Kakashi couldn't tolerate this anymore. There was absolutely no way in hell he was going to let Cashile go back to her captors. She looked weak. Frail yet strong. Obviously sick, obviously tortured by her own conflicting emotions. Still, Kakashi didn't let his guard down. He had to play this out right.

His hand settled on her shoulder. She flinched under the weight of it. "Come back to Konoha, we will protect you," he said firmly.

Confliction flickered in her eyes, if only for moment. Then it was gone, the emotionless, calculating look restored. Her eyes emptied, and Kakashi saw her hand clench around the sharp rock.

"The Jōshō Houou has -"

In a flicker of movement, Kakashi drew back his fist and knocked her out.

"Has sentenced me to die, I know."

Wow.

With this updated, the journey that is The Strength of Humanity has officially begun.

WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK?!

Cashile's the Rising Phoenix's assassin, Kakashi was attacked... Pretty action packed first chapter, isn't it?

COMMENT COMMENT COMMENT COMMENT COMMENT! You know how much we love comments!

I hope you guys enjoy this! We have a lot planned out for this story!

Alrighty then, that's my time ;P

See ya later~!

gaara119

I can read your mind.

omgomgomgomgomg spazspazspaz moarmoarmoar.

Hahah, yeah, I'm thinking the same thing. Even though I'm half creator of this marvelously suspenseful chapter :')

Well this was fun writing! Pleaaaaaaseeeee comment you wonderful wonderful people, it's so nice to talk about your wonderful comments.

Also, vote and fan! :3 cause we're awesome so you should. Jk we're kind of lame :'P but it's ok because we write nice XD

Alrigjt gotta do this calc, so once again...

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Cyahhhh!

Comment, Vote and Fan!

Ja ne!

Insomniac_Lullabies


	3. Chapter Two - Imprisonment

With most people, I could watch and understand, _see_ almost everything about them.

The man with the younger woman has a tan line in his left ring finger. Obviously having an affair.

The man walking along with his girlfriend was obviously gay. The girlfriend obviously wasn't aware.

The woman in the expensive kimono and jewelry didn't know that her husband has just lost all their money and fortune, probably from gambling.

That person was in love with that person, that woman hated that man, two best friends secretly loved each other, that person was broke, that person was rich, he was failing school, she was skipping... It didn't matter what it was; eventually I learned to see the truth just from watching.

I was good at it. I knew people. I knew how they acted, what they wanted, what they hated, what they loved, how they responded to certain stimuli, what made them _tick_.

This made it that much more confusing for me to look at the silver haired man and see nothing.

What did he want?

Who was he?

Why did I feel... Like I knew him? It was ridiculous: there's no reason I would know him. I was a Claw, all emotion stripped from me during the pain endurance portion of training. I should feel _nothing_ when I look at him.

I should feel _nothing_ , _ever_.

Why did he look so sad when I snatched at the side of my head, pain smashing through it as I thought and felt in ways that had long since been trained out of me, in ways I was conditioned to feel pain in?

And why did I _care_?

Why did _he_ care?

I slammed my head into the metal bar of my cell, ignoring Kakashi's shout as the pain of my throbbing forehead helped control the searing burn in my mind. I breathed raggedly as my mind cleared from the haze of pain.

"What's wrong with her, Tsunade?" The silver haired man asked. Friend Killer. Cold Hearted. How did he earn those names? Was that who he was? Or was that just what he was called?

Or both?

"I... I'm not sure," the woman admits. Tsunade. Sixth Hokage. Slug Queen. On our list. Not to die, but to be aware of. To watch. To send messages to.

Like Kakashi's death. That was supposed to be a message.

"She's obviously gone through a lot of trauma. PTSD is practically a given at this point. But it wouldn't explain why she doesn't seem to remember you, remember us, remember... Well, herself," Tsunade murmured.

"I am no one," I whisper, "I am nothing." It felt reassuring to say the words that had been drilled into me since day one. "I am a tool for the Rising Phoenix to use at will. I am here to serve the Rising Phoenix in mind, in spirit, and in body. I shall not flinch, I shall not feel, I shall not scream, I will follow the Phoenix till the end of the earth."

"At this point I'm thinking brainwashing. Notice how she flinches and grabs the side of her head sometimes?" I assume Kakashi nods, because Tsunade continues. "I believe that something causes her pain whenever she thinks, whenever she feels, or whenever she tries to remember."

"So... There's a jutsu or something effecting her?" Kakashi asks slowly.

"I believe that either there is a jutsu implanted inside of her mind or... She's been brainwashed. Or a mixture of both, of course," Tsunade explains. "We should get someone who can search through her mind in here. In fact, we should get a team."

"An entire team?" Kakashi asks.

"At this point, I believe it best that we treat her as hostile. We don't know what traps may be inside her mind."

Tsunade walks away, leaving Kakashi behind. I sit with my head pressed into the corner of the wall and bars, clutching at the iron rods.

"You have killed me," I tell him, no emotion leaking into my voice as I speak of my death.

"I've saved you," Kakashi replies, looking at me sadly.

"They will have sent an assassin after me by now," I say softly, "The replacement Claw."

"I thought there was only one Claw?"

"There is only one Claw. The Claw never changes. It is an image. A message. Stronger than just a shinobi. The person behind the mask may change, but the fear that comes with the Claw never will," I whisper.

"You said you were the best," Kakashi states.

"I am. Which is why I will survive for a while. But only for a while. Soon... Well, there will always be someone faster, always be someone stronger, always someone bigger, always someone smarter. Eventually I will lose, as we all will."

"Depressing thought," Kakashi comments.

"Just a realistic one," I counter.

"Huh. That's more like the Cashile I knew." The corner of his mouth tilts upward slightly. He rests his hand gently on the cage they've confined me in.

It wasn't as cruel as I was normally used to, the cage. It was spacious and there was soft bedding on the floor in one corner, unlike the jagged edges and hard metal bars and the cold white snow seeping through between the bars of the cages the Phoenix kept me in.

 _Bad tool, bad tool, bad bad bad tool._

I couldn't resist flinching slightly, feeling the microscopic vibration from Kakashi of the Sharingan putting his hand on the bar.

What Cashile _did_ he know?

Who was _Cashile?_

Memories bounce through my head causing painful spasms as the past memories were quickly replaced with torturous ones.

"Hey, hang in there," Kakashi says gently, trying to comfort me. But _why_ was he trying to comfort _me?_

He sits in a chair, reading a book that he is thoroughly fascinated with, keeping guard over me. No doubt to make sure I do not escape.

I don't even attempt to. By this point _They_ know I've been captured. They know I'm being held. And soon, if they didn't kill me, all their secrets would be divulged from my mind.

Well, maybe not. I'd been trained well to not release any information upon capture.

It was too late for me. All I could do now was be a good tool to the finish, and resign to my death.

But if I was going to die anyways- No!

I shake every thought away, allowing the mind numbing persona of the Claw to wash over me once again.

22 hours and 42 minutes pass by before my next visit from the hokage. During these hours I sit up, still, alert and ready to take action. Kakashi continues to read his books, shooting worried glances at me every couple of minutes the entire duration.

The sound of footsteps cause immediate alarm, forcing my body out of resting mode. My head snaps up from my sitting position on the ground, and I narrow my eyes at the only entrance to the room, making a quick grab for the kunai that were no longer hidden, scattered over my body.

"How is she?" Tsunade asks. My trained ears pick up on two pairs of shuffling feet that follow behind the hokage.

Kakashi sighs, tired from his overnight shift. A black circle rims his eye. "No change, she sits there, in the same still position, awake and alert. Barely gets any rest." Worry laces his formal tone mildly. "Convinced that another assassin will end her."

There was a sudden, audible intake of breath, and a choked noise. I register and analyze where the sound is coming from.

It's a man. Intimidating. Interrogator-type. Long black coat, head cap.

Ah. Ibiki Morino. We only knew of him to know his torture methods. He preferred to break you without touching you. I do not flinch. Nothing... Nothing could ever compare to the pain They put me through.

And that was the point.

"How... How is this possible Kakashi?" The man asked in a deep, startled voice.

He brought his fist down loudly on the cell, and looked at me, a million different emotions swimming deeply through his eyes.

I didn't flinch this time.

Within the 22 hours and 42 minutes, I had taken the time to remember who I was; The Claw of the Phoenix. I am a tool. I feel no fear, no happiness, no sadness. I feel nothing. I _am_ nothing.

Therefore the loud noise, the cause of shocking vibrations through the cage, did not scare me this time. I stare up at the man with emotionless eyes, saying nothing. There was nothing to say. I would die soon.

The man looked me in the eyes and I met his gaze steadily, assessing him. "You're dead."

The statement does nothing to shake me, to scare me. I was well aware of the fact by now. In the end, what did it matter if I died by Ibiki's hand or by the coming Claw's?

"No, no, Cashile," Kakashi hurried to reassure me, "He didn't mean it as a threat. Ibiki wasn't saying that he was going to kill you. It's just, we believed you were dead."

I switched my empty gaze back to Kakashi. "I'm nothing but a tool. In the end, it does not matter if you take my life, or if They do. I _will_ die."

"What is this?" Ibiki growls furiously, obviously getting over his shock. "Did she _play_ us? Because everyone thought she was dead, but here she is, _not_ dead. Did she fake her death? Did she fake it all?"

The intensity of his anger rips through the air. He was mad at _me_?

Of course he was mad at me, I was trying to assassinate his fellow ninja.

But.. I faked my own death? Why would I do that? I was, after all, only a tool. Why would I _need_ to do that, being the Claw as far as I can remember.

Perhaps.. In order to achieve perfection in being the perfect tool I had to fake my own death.

 _That_ makes sense.

Pain rips through the side of my head once more as memories of a hyperactive blonde kid with blue blue eyes flash briefly across my mind.

I groan slightly and clutch my head, unable to think anymore. Being here was making this worse. I'd never had this much pain for remembering. I'd always been able to push it back, push it away.

The pain ceases as the snapshots fade and once again, I am left questioning," _What are these images that are being withheld from me?"_

I shake it off and mutter the reassurance,"It is nothing. It does not matter. I am only a tool. The Claw of the Phoenix."

I react with nothing towards my audience. I feel nothing towards their obvious pity or anger towards me.

"You're a bitch, Cashile," Ibiki suddenly snaps. Inexplicable sadness and irritation sting at me before I can stop it.

Ibiki stomps out, and with a worried glance towards me, Tsunade follows. I take the reprieve with relief. Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes and think.

I wanted to obey, I wanted to serve the Phoenix. But I had failed. And deep down, there was something I wanted more than to serve. Even though it was my sole purpose to obey the Rising Phoenix, to be there tool, more than that I wanted to _survive_.

I don't want to die.

The realization shocks through me so suddenly that I feel the need to say it out loud.

"I do not want to die."

I say the words carefully, cautiously testing each one before letting it roll off my tongue. Saying it out loud only cemented my belief. I didn't want to die.

"Don't worry, Cashile," Kakashi whispers softly, soothingly, "We'll protect you. We won't let anything happen."

I tilt my head. "How can you promise that?" I question, "With all of the circumstances, events, and people outside of your control, how can you promise that nothing will happen to me?"

Kakashi gave a sad smile. "I just can, I guess."

"That is completely illogical," I whisper. "And yet maybe, between the two of us..." I shook my head violently, the searing pain seeming to melt my brain as the... Memories...? Were these snapshots of people _my_ memories?

I had always suspected it was so, but I'd also known better than to mention them. I pushed them aside, forced myself to forget, the stabbing pain being my assistant in attaining my mind numbingly blissful state of nothingness, the nothingness that came with being nobody, the nothingness that came with being the Claw of the Phoenix.

But now I was no longer the Claw. I was no longer Their tool. They would kill me. Whether it was in days, weeks, months or even years... They would kill me.

And I don't want to die.

Are we breaking your heart?

It's 5:30 in the morning right now because I have work (reffing soccer). I have a 7:00 game to ref, I'm supposed to be there an hour early (NOT happening) and so I'm up at 5:30.

ANYHOW how do you like this chapter? Yes, yes, you all got it right: she's back in Konoha. Not that hard of a guess seeing as she was captured by Kakashi, a ninja of Konoha, last chapter. XD

Well, one thing hasn't changed about Cashile: she cares about her own survival. She doesn't want to die, guys!

Sweet. Okay, any fanart, oneshots, trailers, etc, PM us and we'll tell you how to send it to us! We love fanart oneshots and the like!

Alrighty! Comment comment comment!

Bye!

~gaara119

Hey guys!

Okay, so that was intense. It gets better too :3 I can't do a long note because I'm about to attend a funeral Dx

So comment! Fan and vote if you will

Thanks for the support :)

-S

Comment, Vote, and Fan!

Ja ne!

Insomniac_Lullabies


	4. Chapter Three - A Tool's Demise

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Ibiki asked Kakashi, taking a nervous glance towards me. "Remember what happened _last_ time? She practically disowned me."

I raised my eyebrow. What in the world was he talking about? I had... _Relations_ to these people? Important enough that I could... _Disown_ them?

I had been placed against the dungeon wall, chained by my wrists and ankles so that I was immobilized.

"Get over it, Ibiki. The safety of the village comes first, and who knows what the Rising Phoenix got out of Cashile," Kakashi said, unsympathetically. "She's our student; it's our responsibility to do what we can to help her."

Ibiki's eyes hardened, and he stood in front of me with another man, a tall blonde one. "Ready when you are, Yamanako." Two unnamed men out their hands on Yamanako and Ibiki's shoulders, ready to lend them chakra at any given moment.

Yamanako rubbed his hands together and firmly planted them on either side of my head.

I glared at him, irritated with the physical contact, then flinched before I pushed the irritation back inside me.

"You won't divulge any information from me. I'm well trained," I said, just before everything went black.

An uncomfortable feeling had settled in Ibiki's chest. Being in Cashile's head again...

He shook away the sensitive thoughts. This was necessary for the safety of Konoha.

"Wow, it's changed in here." Yamanako whistled.

He was right. Before, Cashile's head had been organized so profoundly, creativity jumping out of each corner, traps lying in wait in the places you'd least expect them.

Now, it was completely bland. No stairs that continued on into each other forever, no brightly lit corridors. It looked as though the place had been ransacked. Glass littered the floor, the lights were either flickering or dead. Doors were either shattered or chained shut, the walls were crumbling...

What had _happened_ here? What destroyed Cashile's mind?

There was one corridor, presenting all the doors available. Each door was sealed shut. Even the doors that hadn't been sealed during Ibiki's first trip.

Had Cashile sealed them to avoid another incident like the last?

Was that even possible? For someone to seal their own memories?

"Over there!" Yamanako said.

Ibiki followed him down the hall, right to a door. Not just an ordinary door. It was the door that had been chained tightly the first trip around. Now, it's seal looks shattered, clinging on to the edges of the door for dear life.

It was one of the only doors that wasn't shut.

"Well," Yamanako coughed. "I'll give you the honors."

"Thanks," Ibiki grunted, stepping past Yamanako, and pulling the door open, pushing down any hesitance.

Immediately spiders swarmed out, covering Ibiki. He let out a shocked shout, batting at the tiny creatures.

Cashile appeared, flickering right behind Ibiki. "They were guards!" Yamanaka shouted, "Cashile's cracked open a door. I need to fight her out!"

"Just do it!" Ibiki shouted. There was a sudden flash of light and darkness then light again and everything went quiet.

Ibiki sat up, the spiders gone. "Thanks," he breathed. Then his eyes narrowed. "You let me go first!"

Yamanako smiled sheepishly. "Of course... heh..."

Ibiki picked himself up roughly and yanked open the door, tired of mind games. Literally, _mind_ games.

And what was inside the door, he couldn't believe.

I gasped awake, coughing from exhaustion. The blonde one looked the same way as I felt. We had battled our chakras and he had won because I was weak.

It was unacceptable.

Ibiki gasped in horror. "They know... Everything."

"Elaborate?" Tsunade invited.

I lost track of their conversation as another coughing fit gripped me. I spasmed weakly, a small stream of blood dripping from the corner of my mouth. I collapsed, allowing my weight to hang from the shackles. My head lolled to the side as pain gripped my lungs and throat. I tried to catch my breath, gasps coming fast and shallow.

Kakashi was the first to notice something was wrong when I started to shake, teeth chattering. "She's coughing up blood, Tsunade!" He shouted, alarmed.

Tsunade placed two fingers on my throat. "Her heart is racing," she mumbled, "And she's running a fever." She inspected the blood that ran from my mouth. "Not just blood," she announced, "It's mucus, tinged with blood."

"What's wrong with her, Lady Tsunade?" Ibiki asks.

"Fairly easy diagnosis," Tsunade declared, "It's pneumonia."

"You can heal her?" Kakashi questioned.

"Simple treatment: antibiotics taken once daily. I also want to rehydrate her, get some fluids into her. She needs a meal, preferably a broth, some water and a roll to start. Keep it simple."

"Yes, Lady Tsunade," Kakashi and Ibiki said in unison.

"Tsunade?" Kakashi hesitates, before swallowing and hurriedly asking, "The antibiotics... The drugs... Are they... Addictive?"

"Unless she enjoys possible stomach aches and nausea, no," Tsunade responded.

I grimaced in my pained state. Why was he so worried if the drugs were addictive or not? Was he worried I would turn into a drug addict? I almost laugh at the thought, but I should feel nothing so I don't feel anything.

Pain racked my body and I tried to conceal it this time, but I seized up again.

"Let's treat her before we proceed with our interrogation." Kakashi suggested, shooting a worried glance in my direction. Ibiki's glance hardened towards me but he didn't argue.

Half an hour passed before a woman in white scrubs and a mask came into the holding area. "From Lady Tsunade." She said, handing Kakashi an orange bottle full of tablets, and a bottle of water. "One every day. And here." She handed him a plastic bag. "Broth and a roll for today."

"Thank you." Kakashi said appreciatively.

The woman nodded. Even half dead I could see that she was intimidated by Kakashi of the Sharingan.

She left, blushing and stumbling over herself.

"Okay Cashile, you don't want to die? Take this." He put one capsule in my mouth and unscrewed the cap of the bottle, slowly tilting down so that small drops of water spilled into my mouth without making a mess.

I swallowed the tablet and guzzled down the water that I so desperately needed to keep my body functioning, to keep my usefulness as a tool.

"She should rest," Kakashi said to Ibiki.

"No, the village is at risk. She'll be fine, she's a tough nut," Ibiki argued.

I could feel the strength seeping back into me as Kakashi fed me the broth and the roll. Why were they helping me? A tool of the Phoenix, their enemy. Hours ago I had tried to _kill_ this Kakashi of the Sharingan.

Now he was feeding me broth and rolls.

What was _wrong_ with these people?!

"Cashile, you need to be brave."

I stare straight ahead, heart pounding violently. "If the Rising Phoenix has hidden something from me it is for a reason. I do not wish to open doors that should remain shut."

"You mean you don't want to experience the pain that comes with remembering," Ibiki snapped at me.

I looked up at him. He was right too, of course. The pain that accompanied these... These _memories_ was the only pain that affected me so greatly now.

I had to make a decision; be loyal to the Phoenix, and die. Die a tool, as my destiny was set to be.

Or help these people, become a traitor, a free spirit, the next Claw's target- and have a fair chance at survival.

The choice was fairly easy. I'd choose survival, going against every bone in my body, every instinct and feeling, which told me that I lived only to serve for and die for The Rising Phoenix.

But they had underestimated my desire to survive.

The hesitance before my final decision played into my mind before I asked, "What do I have to do?"

Ibiki smirked, "Now we're talking Cashile. You have blocks set up in your mind. It's impossible for you to remember anything without the pain associated with it. In other words, you've been forcefully brainwashed. You had a life before being The Claw. You had friends, people who care about you."

The words sparked confused feelings inside my chest. So that's why I couldn't remember anything. I... Had a life before the Phoenix?

"I'll make you a deal, Cashile. I'll tell you something about yourself, something you don't know, If you do this for us and for yourself. In fact, the knowledge will come to you automatically if you succeed."

An old feeling stirred inside my stomach.

Knowledge... Is power... Power...

I clenched my teeth and held my breath, battling the pain in exchange for the old, familiar feeling.

Three seconds later I gasped, unable to do it.

"I can't," I said.

He grabbed my shoulders roughly. "Fight it, Cashile. _Fight it._ "

"Fine, I'll do it," I snapped back. Something about Ibiki Morino _irritated_ me.

I pushed down the pain associated with feeling the irritation, feeling anything at all. This was only one tenth of the pain I would have to deal with soon enough.

"Could you at least unchain me?" I asked. "And maybe have a medic nin to ease _some_ of the pain?"

"We can arrange that," Kakashi affirmed. "Anything else?" He asked.

"Do you _both_ need to be in here?"

I would be at my weakest, most... Most _vulnerable._

 _"_ No one will be in here but us and Lady Tsunade," He assured me.

As if on cue, Lady Tsunade walked into the room.

I hesitated yet again. "I... Okay, I guess."

"Alright Cashile, this will be painful, but there's an eye of the storm of sorts. At the center of your mind is a kind of core memory, something that will keep you grounded as you begin remembering, that will keep you... Well, you," Tsunade explained.

"Okay."

"Here we go," she said grimly.

They disappeared from my sight. What replaced them was not pleasant, at all.

The white, hot pain increased each moment as I was nearly forced from my own mind. I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes, walking blindly through my mind palace, focusing on anything but the pain. I was so _close_ , I _knew_ it.

Suddenly everything fell away, and I stood in a golden glow.

"Are you there?" I heard Ibiki's voice ask.

"...yeah..." I murmured, soaking it all in. So this was the very core of the memories I thought for years were non existent.

"What is it?" Kakashi asked, from somewhere above.

"It's... It's a tree on top of a hill. On a spring day. It's peaceful."

Something flashed around me. An image of a boy. A boy with strain in his eye and a look much beyond his age. He smiled down at me, playing with strands of my hair.

This... _Happened?_

 _Impossible._

"Good," Kakashi sounded relieved, "You've found a memory. Are you in pain right now?"

I suddenly realized that I am not. "No..." I said slowly. I did feel _something._

Perhaps a fondness, a longing for this place unknown to me. _Nostalgia_.

"Okay. This memory is your safe spot; whenever the pain gets too bad or you're having a particularly hard time with a memory, return here. This will provide you healing and protection. Alright?" Tsunade walked me through the process.

"Okay," I agreed quietly.

"Let's get started then," Ibiki said.

I took a deep breath and stepped away from the golden glow and plunged back into the swirling black storm. I struggled through, directly myself towards the first door I spot. With just a touch, the seal melts away and the door springs open.

"I touched it and it opened," I said through clenched teeth, the onslaught of pain nearly overcoming me.

"Some doors will be easier to open than others," Ibiki told me.

"Go inside," Kakashi urged.

I stepped inside and it overcomes me. I cry out in bitter pain. Unable to withstand for even a mere five seconds, I turned and ran away from the memory, running back to the safety of the tree on top of the hill.

"It hurt!" I gasped, "I was poisoned!"

"Must've been the spiders," Kakashi muttered to Ibiki, "What was that, two and a half years ago?"

"Closer to three," Ibiki responded.

"Poisoned by spiders?" I asked.

I could hear them in conference. "She opened the door, but she didn't remember the entire memory, Tsunade," Kakashi said.

"From what I can tell she'll just get glimpses from the past, until she sees something that will jolt her out of her entire brainwashed state," Tsunade inferred.

The peaceful scenery greeted me, healing all the blistering and burning pain and putting my soul at ease. I had the urge to just lie down...

Kakashi brought be out of my thoughts. "Cashile, are you ready for the next door?"

"Not really," I groaned. None the less, I leapt through the darkness full of suffering, and opened the next door.

I had gone through several more doors, receiving snapshots of feeling and thought but no concrete memories. I let out a pained breath I stepped through the door and felt pure relief when no hurt greeted me.

Curiosity settled over me, as I viewed another me. I proceeded to watch and observe myself.

I'm sitting on the park bench of Konoha.

And as I sat, I learned.

The man with the younger woman has a tan line in his left ring finger. Obviously having an affair.

The man walking along with his girlfriend was obviously gay. The girlfriend obviously wasn't aware.

The woman in the expensive kimono and jewelry didn't know that her husband has just lost all their money and fortune, probably from gambling.

That person was in love with that person, that woman hated that man, two best friends secretly loved each other, that person was broke, that person was rich, he was failing school, she was skipping... It didn't matter what it was; eventually I learned to see the truth just from watching.

I was good at it. I knew people. I knew how they acted, what they wanted, what they hated, what they loved, how they responded to certain stimuli, what made them _tick_...

My eyes flew open and I gasped, choking on the flood of memories that were completely overwhelming my mind.

I grasped my head, pain swarming, spreading. There was no warmth, no peaceful memory to escape to. Only pain.

It was all I knew right now. It would never stop. It was all I was ever going to know. I shouldn't have crossed the Phoenix. What use am I invalid, even if I have my memories?

I was nothing. I was a tool of the Phoenix. I rethought these two sentences over and again in my mind, hoping that relief and the comfort of being nothing would follow. I started muttering the words out loud.

Kakashi lashed his arms towards me, and on instinct I reached for my weapons which had been confiscated.

It wasn't till after his arms were around me that I realized he was holding me in an embrace. He was _hugging_ me. Irritation replaced my panic, and the pain dulled.

And suddenly, now, when I looked at Kakashi, I could _see_. I could see his motivation and his worries and his stress and what each twitch from him meant.

I could see him, Ibiki, and Lady Tsunade. I could see that I was not a tool. I was not nothing.

I could see that I was brilliant.

I could see that I was Cashile Kuroki.

A/N

Do you hate us yet? Do you love us yet? Tell me how you feeeeeeel! Okay, okay so most of you feel a deep desire to stab us for basically... Destroying Cashile. But you don't because you want is alive to write the next chapter.

UNDERSTANDABLE.

Don't worry guys, Cashile's a bitch, I know. Terrible things are happening to her, I know. But that's her suckish life and most of the outcomes were results of her own selfish decisions (which we also are to blame for, no sugar coating.)

But hey, it'll get better. Then worse, then better and worse. It's a cycle, this life, that's realism. No promises though.

Anyways! I sincerely hope you enjoy this chapter and want more! I'm SO SORE! I worked out so my.

My ass is numb and it hurts to sit.

Help.

Anyways, comment, vote, fan :-) thanks for the support guys!

-S

Heyyyyyy.

How'd you like this?

I WANT COMMENNNTSSSS PLLLLEEEEEAAASSSE. LONG BEAUTIFUL COMMENTS!

ANYWHO.

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Spoiler alert for cheap comments ;P: AIDEN IS COMIN' BACK NEXT CHAPTER!

Okay MUAHAHA with that cliffhanger,

BYE!

gaara119

Comment, Vote and Fan!

Ja ne!

Insomniac_Lullabies


	5. Chapter Four - Homecoming

The first thing I did with my new memories was nearly burst into tears.

I hold everything back, try not to think or feel. The memories, the _torture_... It was too much. I doubled over and threw up.

For a split second I regretted it. These new memories, this... _Humanity_... Gave me weakness that would hold me back from survival. Memories I used to not flinch at made me _feel_ so much.

"Cashile?" Kakashi was holding me at arms length, studying me.

I took a moment to look up at him. "Ka...Kakashi..."

This was such a strange experience. Only moments ago I could remember not caring about him at all, not _knowing_ him. I could remember not being Cashile Kuroki, not being _me_.

"Oh God Cashile, I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry," Kakashi whispered fervently. "You saved us, you _sacrificed_ yourself."

I hesitated. Sacrifice myself? What was he talking about? I ruffled through my memories before realizing. Ah, the last time he saw me... Oh, he thought I'd purposefully stabbed myself.

"Right..." I said slowly, "No offense, but I kind of wish I hadn't."

Kakashi let out a bark of laughter. "No offense taken," he reassured me. Then he sobered. "Cashile... Are you okay?"

I hesitated slightly. "Just peachy, Kakashi."

He didn't push it, just as I'd predicted. "So now what?" I asked, exhausted.

"We need as much information on the Rising Phoenix as possible. We need to continue this interrogation," Ibiki said, casting a dark gaze over me.

Anger issues much?

I felt my shoulders droop unconsciously. "Can't it... Can't it wait?" I whispered. "I'm so _tired_."

In all honestly, this was my own emotion bleeding through more than me trying to manipulate them. I was exhausted. I wanted to sleep. I wanted to feel safe.

And warm. I shivered, thinking of the torture, the pure cold. The days when I thought that I would never be warm again.

Before I stopped caring whether or not I was warm. Because all I was at that point was a body. A tool. Not a person, but a body meant to be used in order to achieve for someone else.

Now I wasn't sure I would ever feel safe again.

"No. Konoha is in danger, and we need to extract all the information possible," Ibiki snapped.

"And break me in the process?" I retorted.

"If that's what it takes," he growled coldly.

"What's your problem?" I snapped back, irritated.

"Okay, we've already gotten quite a bit of information," Kakashi stepped up, "Let's go over what we have and see how to respond to it and start up again in the morning."

"That sounds like a plan," Tsunade latched onto the idea, "I'll assign ANBU to protect you. You won't even notice they're there."

I almost laughed. Right, I won't notice them.

"Alright, I'll head to my apartment then," I agreed.

"Your apartment?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah...?"

"It's not yours anymore, Cashile. You were... Well, I don't know what the legal ramifications are of bringing someone back from the dead."

"You had me declared _dead_?"

Kakashi nodded awkwardly. "You did... Bleed out in front of us. I searched for even the slightest bit of chakra, and... I didn't find it."

"Thanks for leaving me behind," I muttered, knowing that I was guilt tripping him. "But it's not your fault," I clarified, "They have a jutsu that puts you in a death like state. They call it Hōzuki no Jutsu."

"Still..." Kakashi mumbled, "Sorry."

"Well, it's a good thing I know who I left everything to," I smirked _._

My smirk faltered, thinking about the two boys I'd left behind.

It had been almost _three years_.

Oh _God._

Aisa would be nearly twelve now.

And Aiden. Geez, that idiot had probably killed himself from overworking by now. Maybe the strain had been taken off his shoulders when he received my apartment and my _life savings_.

Well, I'd be taking those back.

"Hey, get some rest," Kakashi said, "I'll get you safely to your apartment and then the ANBU will take over from there."

"Thanks," I offered my gratitude without arguing, surprising even myself. But I was too tired and overwhelmed to care what anyone else thought of me.

For almost three years I had been absolutely nothing but a tool.

And now I was finally back home. Then again, what was home?

An image of the two boys filled my mind, but I suppressed it almost immediately. I could not allow this to weaken me, to let me slip through the hard work I've persevered through, even though it threw me into a mist of nothingness for three years.

I walked alongside Kakashi silently, taking in everything I could remember about the village, remembering each intricate observation and careful manipulation I held here.

Looking back on it, I was such a _prick._

I was a brat, who thought I knew true pain when Ibiki tortured me, turned my own mind against me.

I almost laughed out loud. I had known _nothing._ Ibiki had gone so easy on me, as far as I could remember. I was such a naive little idiot to think-

Tension increased in the air around me within a time frame of .02 seconds.

One moment I was remembering grudges of the past, and the next moment I disappeared into the thin air, leaving my _guest_ in anticipation.

"New Claw already, huh?" I appeared behind it and applied pressure to make the Claw of the Rising Phoenix a temporary quadriplegic. I then placed a kunai at it's throat without any means of hesitation. The mask covered the face hiding behind it, but that didn't matter.

What mattered was my survival. "Got news pal," I hissed in it's ear, "I was the best they had, and now they're sending suicide Claws after me. You followed a hopeless mission."

Then I slit it's throat.

I reappeared in front of Kakashi, who had been frantically looking everywhere for me within the 7 seconds I had disappeared from his sight.

With me, the dead Claw hung limply over my shoulder. "They've already sent someone after me," I mused, "They must _really_ miss me."

Kakashi's shoulders tensed up as he identified the situation immediately.

He glanced over me, "You alright?"

"Fit as a fiddle," I replied.

"You killed him," Kakashi said.

"And the sky is blue," I responded sarcastically.

"You didn't even hesitate. I mean, it just..." Kakashi trailed off, seeming to be at a loss for words, unable to say what he was feeling. "You didn't even know him-"

"It," I interrupted.

"What?"

"This," I nudged the Claw slightly, "Is not a him. It's not a person. It's not a human being. It's just that: an it. And trust me when I say this Kakashi: it's been dead for a long time."

"We could've gathered information from him," Kakashi replied.

I raised an eyebrow, Kakashi's continued use of the more human "him" not escaping me. "You wouldn't have gotten anything from it," I replied.

"We got information from you," Kakashi argued.

"I was... Damaged," I replied distastefully. Kakashi goes to argue but I cut him off. "Seriously Kakashi. It's no use. These Claws have died a long time ago in mind, spirit and body."

Kakashi stared, before finally saying, "Well, now we have to drop the body off for examination," he said, "We can't exactly go wandering through the village with it."

Just as he was saying that an ANBU appeared in front of me. "We will take the body," the ANBU intoned.

I stared quizzically at the ANBU before deciding that they were the real deal.

"Let him take it," Kakashi encouraged. I handed the body over to the ANBU. He was gone in an instant, and we continued on with our lives.

"How long do you estimate before they send another?" Kakashi asked.

"A few hours maybe. It only takes the Claw a few hours max to get the job done, or else they aren't skilled or qualified enough to be _The_ Claw."

"How long did it take them to name _you_ Claw?" He continued questioning.

"About a year," I replied, remembering the months of excruciating pain before I became the Claw. The mind numbing, almost brain damaging training and torture.

And like an idiot I fought them. I fought their torture. I thought I could do it, I thought Ibiki had done his worst on me. I thought I was strong.

 _Till they broke me._

Buried in my thoughts, It took Kakashi's voice to wake me. "We're here, Cashile."

I looked up at him. "Have you informed them that I'm here? That I'm... _Alive?"_ I asked.

He hesitated. Of course he didn't.

"Want me to come up there with you?" He offered.

"Just go home, I'll take care of things here," I waved him off, turning on my heel without glancing back.

I felt his eyes on me, watching me until I was safely inside the apartment complex.

I hesitated when I reached the door. Why was _I_ hesitating? This was _my_ house!

I cursed under my breath when I realized that I didn't have the keys.

Tentatively, I knocked. I heard the scrape of a chair being pushed back and the sound of pattering feet. There's a pause as the person behind the door looked through the peep hole before opening the door.

"Cashiiiiiiillle!"

The almost twelve year old boy hit me hard, causing me to take a stumbling step back. I blink back the tears that had inexplicably leapt to my eyes. "Guess some things never do change, do they?" I joke, ignoring the slight catch in my voice.

"You're back!" Aisa exclaimed. I raise an eyebrow. This was a surprisingly easygoing reaction to someone who's supposed to be dead appearing at the doorstep.

"Yup," I nod quietly, arms dangling at my side as he continues to squeeze the life out of me. "I'm back."

He leans back to look up at my face. "Aiden said you were going away for a long time and he wasn't sure when you were coming back and now finally you're back! It's been three years and look I'm almost as tall as you, I mean you're still like a head taller than me but still! But Aiden is still waaaay taller than me and-"

So Aiden hadn't told him. That explains a lot, and makes his life a lot easier.

"You still ramble when you get excited, huh?" I laugh, affectionately running my hand through his hair unintentionally.

He crushes me in a hug once more, tears leaking out of his eyes this time. "When Aiden said you weren't coming back for a while I-I got so scared. He said the same thing about mommy and she still hasn't come back yet."

He started hiccuping. How could one kid be so naive? But I suspected he knew, deep down inside, what had happened and knew his mother wasn't coming back.

"Hey," I said, grabbing his chin. "What did I say about tears, eh?"

He had grown so big since the last time I'd seen him. That would be...

Hah, that would be since I spent lunch with him at the academy before I left for the mission.

Did I look different to him?

Suddenly I could feel the huge scar on my face like I had received it yesterday. Self consciousness nagged at me. I wanted to cover it up, I didn't want them to see it, to question or... _Worry._

Aisa seemed to know what I was thinking. He had that gift with people. He got on his tippy toes and touches my scar and then he opened his mouth. I feared he would ask me something about the scar, but then...

"Will mommy have scars like that when she comes back too?" He asked, purely inquisitive.

There was no worry or negative astonishment.

I burst out laughing.

"Don't worry about it kid," I reassure him, "Your mom is in no pain."

"Aisa? Who's at the door?"

I freeze when I hear his voice. "No more night shifts then?" I ask Aisa.

"Nope!" He grinned happily.

I heard the footsteps approaching. Oh God. Why was _I_ nervous? This was _my_ house. _They_ declared me dead when I was really alive. None of this was my fault!

And yet my heart continued to pound.

I don't know what I was expecting when Aiden saw me. Disbelief, sure. Sadness, maybe. Happiness, hopefully.

Anger? Never.

Yet that's what I saw when he locked eyes with me. A split second of shock, then pure unadulterated anger.

He grabbed Aisa's arm and snatched him away from me, ignoring his whine of complaint and nearly shaking with rage. "How dare you," he whispers quietly. I froze. The quieter Aiden got the more dangerous he was. "Is this supposed to be some kind of joke? Is this supposed to be funny?" His voice wobbled slightly.

"Aiden," Aisa whined plaintively, "Why are you mad at Cashile when she just got back?"

"Cashile is dead," Aiden shook his head defiantly, "Cashile Kuroki is _dead_."

"Aiden-" I started, only to be cut off,

"No," he shakes his head again, "What is it, a transformation? A genjutsu?"

"Ai-"

"Shut _up_!"

He aimed a punch at my face. Too shocked, I refused to move. His fist crashed down hard into my jaw and I slammed into the ground. My eyes were wide.

" _Bastard,"_ Aiden yelled.

 _He's gotten stronger._

"You think you can play some sort of _stupid_ joke like this and get away with it?" His voice was strained and pain was woven in his tired eyes.

He looked well. Taller, more muscular. Years of hard labor had cut away all excess fat and strengthened his body.

I touched the side of my tender jaw. "It's gonna take more than a punch to bring me down," I made eye contact with him and smirked a bit, recovering from my shock and hiding the small stab of pain that came with having his hatred aimed towards me. "Care to try again?"

The angry look on his face faltered. _Now_ I was witnessing what should have been the initial reaction. Overwhelming confusion, denial mixed with droplets from the streams of hope.

Tears cascaded down his face and I couldn't help but observe how he pushed Aisa back so far behind him. He shook his head again, mute. I broke the silence.

"Oh come on, I can't look _that_ different, right?"

Aiden choked back some noise in his throat. "Who _are_ you _?_ He whispered.

"Nii-chan?" Aisa questioned, his brown eyes almost as wide as grapefruits.

"Go inside, Aisa," Aiden finally whispered. I couldn't help but notice how he kept his body between Aisa and me, a human shield.

"Nii-"

" _Inside_ ," Aiden ordered sharply. Aisa's shoulders dropped and he sullenly turned around, heading back inside. "Shut the door behind you."

To his credit Aisa followed his brothers orders, but not before waving at me and grinning. A smile tugged at my lips in response. It was just so _painless_ here. I rub my jaw slightly. Comparatively.

"Cashile?"

"That's my name, don't wear it out," I quip, but if you listened closely you could detect the slight waver in my voice.

He drew closer. "You're taller," he mumbled.

"As are you..." I trail off. I come back from the dead and he comments on the fact that I'm taller?

"Your hair is..."

I touch my short and choppy hair self consciously. Good haircuts were never exactly a priority at the Rising Phoenix. I cringe slightly as I remember when they'd grabbed my two long pony tails and sliced them off.

I thought about all this but only conceded, "It could do with a trim."

He reached a hand forward and cupped my cheek, thumb tracing the scar that puckered the skin there. The silence stretched between us.

"Am I going crazy?" He finally whispered.

"I don't know," I shrug, "But I'm real."

He pulls me in for a crushing hug.

"If I'm going crazy I'd like to stay there."

Okay who's fangirling?

I KNOW SOMEONE OUT THERE IS FANGIRLING.

So how'd you like this update? ANBU are watching her (again), you got to see her in action, she's met up with Aisa and Aiden (neither if whom, as I'm sure many of you noticed, she didn't hug. Sorry for the dissapointment)... We're kinda on a roll here, aren't we?

We're going to do our best to update regularly! We've been doing a pretty swell job so far I think!

Hint into the next chapter: you get to learn a little but more about some of her past... Look forward to it!

Okay okay! Hope you enjoyed! Comment!

gaara119

Well G-man (wink wink) got everything down and I'm with my boyfriend who's holding me hostage so no long authors note from me!

Vote , fan , COMMENT

thank you 3

Comment, Vote and Fan!

Ja ne!

Insomniac_Lullabies


	6. Chapter Five - Recallment

"Rise 'n shiiiiiine!" My eyes had snapped open before the lights flicked on. I allowed a half dressed Aisa to bound on me. I figured it wouldn't do any good if he started asking questions such as, "When mommy comes back will _she_ be able to move as fast as Cashile when I tackle _her!?_ "

I groaned as I let his body flatten over mine perpendicularly.

It was 5:30 am. "Why are you up?" I asked groggily, smashing a pillow into my face, tired and irritated. Sure, I didn't get any real sleep when I was a Claw, but now that I had the opportunity to sleep I wanted to _take it._

"I thought I could spend some time with you before class! You know I'm graduating soon, right right right? You'll come to my graduation, rigghhhhht?"

The heavy weight is lifted off of me. "Aisa, stop bothering Cashile. She had a long night," Aiden lectured, coming to my rescue. He looked at me, eyes softening. "A long, long night."

It's true, I did. I spent half the night explaining to Aiden ( _not_ in detail) about the Rising Phoenix and what had happened to me. He ended up giving me the bed and napping on the couch last night, quite chivalrous if you ask me, although the couch would have been more than enough. But hey, I'm not turning down a bed.

Then again, this _was_ my apartment. _My_ old bed. Huh. Why did I have a bed? I usually either didn't sleep or ended up crashing on my comfortable leather sofa. Now that I think about it, it was rather silly to have Aiden sleep on the couch when, in all honesty, I would rather sleep there.

We still had to discuss living arrangements. It would all be very complicated now, thanks to my declared death. I do suppose Aiden and Aisa are better than coming back to some old geezer living here.

"Aw, Nii-chan!" Aisa protested.

I pushed off the blanket and tied my choppy hair in a low pony tail behind my head.

"What are you doing?" Aiden asked, "You know you don't have to listen to him, right? He's just _really_ excited that you're back." His grin disappeared and worry replaced the light in his eyes. He reached forward and touched my bruised jaw. I suppressed an eye roll and let him.

"It's fine," I stated. I knew he was beating himself up for it. "And besides," I continued, "You have other things to worry about."

This time I smirked. "Such as where you're going to live now that I'm back from the dead. I'll be taking my stuff back."

Oh yes, the perfect thing to discuss bright and early in the morning.

He grinned, shaking his head. "Nope, sorry. You left everything to me. It's not _my_ fault that _you_ came back from the dead."

My jaw dropped. He was _refusing to give me back my property and life savings_?

Part of me felt intrigued. That was not part of my predictions for the future.

I straightened my back. "So, what am I going to do? Without any of _my_ money and _my_ apartment which was _given_ to _me_ by the third hokage?" I asked in a challenging manner.

He smirked. "You're problem, not mine."

I was ready to kick his ass out of the apartment when his smirk turned into a cocky grin. "Relax, I'm kidding. I'm sure our kind can co-exist in harmony while we figure something out." He laughed, a twinkle sparkling in his eyes.

A look I've only seen in him when he looks at Aisa. Huh, perhaps it was just my imagination.

"What exactly is 'our kind'? You speak as if we're different creatures altogether." I said, narrowing my eyes playfully.

Our little bickering was interrupted by Aisa. "Nii-chan, I'm hungry!" He yelled.

A light flicked on inside of me. Oh how I missed cooking _real_ food. I grimaced thinking of what I was fed in the organization.

The minimal, just enough to keep my body functioning healthy. Bland oatmeal type food for breakfast and dinner, unless I was being punished.

I almost drooled at the thought of sushi, and a nice warm cup of tea.

And a large chocolate cake drooling insane amounts of goopy sugary frosting.

Aiden must have noticed my eyes glazed over at the savory thought of food, because he touched my shoulder gently. I took a half step away from his touch, and his hand drops to his side. "I can bring you something if you want, you can stay in bed and rest," He offered.

I snapped back into reality and yanked myself off the bed entirely. _"No way!"_

I marched into the kitchen and started exploring for items to cook with. Behind me I heard Aiden order his brother to get ready for school. Aisa complied without question, as he always did.

"What are you making?" Aiden asked me inquisitively from behind. I started the water in the kettle and started chopping some onions and tomatoes- all the veggies I could find.

"I'm making myself and Aisa a decent breakfast," I replied, hastily cracking the egg and throwing the onions and tomatoes into the sizzling oil. "Don't suppose you learned how to cook?"

A sheepish look crossed over his face. "We eat ramen every other night."

I clicked my tongue, not bothering to hide my disgust. "I may take Aisa out of your custody for that," I joked.

"Or you could stay!" Aisa squealed, coming out from the shadows fully dressed for school.

"Just to make sure you're fed real food, I might," I replied casually, but I felt Aiden tense behind me and I started to feel self conscious.

"Would you really?" He breathed.

 _Oh._ He _wanted_ me to stay. Huge relief swept over me. Poor guy, he probably wanted a decent meal every now and then too. Now I had a place to stay for the near future: the cause of my relief I'm sure.

"Just eat," I ordered, finishing up the third omelette.

Aiden sent me his soft yet dazzling smile. "You're impossible," he grinned. And somehow, when he said it, it wasn't an insult at all.

I ignored him and dug into my first bite and almost tear up at the exquisite taste of _real food._

I cannot wait to bake my cake today.

I felt satisfied as I looked over the boys as they scarfed down what was left on their own plates. I rolled my eyes. What morons, eating ramen every other day.

The clock in my head struck 7:00am. "Thank you Cashile!" Aisa squealed, attempting to tackle me in a hug again. This time his attack was unsuccessful, as I pushed against his forehead.

Aiden took his hand. "Come on buddy, time to go." He then looks up at me gratefully. I nod in acknowledgement.

"Go wait outside the door for me, Aisa," Aiden said, shoving him slightly out the door. When Aisa was gone he turned to me. "We never fully repaid you, and the second you come back we're in even _more_ debt to you," he said.

I shrugged lightly, "Don't worry about it. You'll just owe me a favor," I smirked at this, remembering old times.

"Yeah," he whispered, staring at me as though I was impossible. I suppose, in a way, I was. "Take care of yourself while we're gone, okay? Aisa will be home around 3 and I'll be home around 8, if they let me out on time. He's really glad to have you around here."

"Will do," I chirped. I knew exactly what I would be doing. Baking baking and more baking.

"Alright, see ya, Cashile," he said, shutting the door behind him.

As soon as they're gone I turned back and started to clean up the omelette in order to start baking the cake. As I reached for a teacup I suddenly froze.

That wasn't a teacup recently used.

That was _my_ teacup.

That was the mug I'd set next to the sink when Kakashi came and told me Tsunade had summoned us for a mission. For _that_ mission. For the one I didn't return from.

Aiden had never moved my teacup.

That hit me harder than anything had yet. It was like he was holding onto me, or somehow waiting for me to come back, all in the simple motion of not moving my teacup.

I turned and scanned the apartment. My chessboard... He hadn't put it away in almost three years.

But he had changed it.

I drew closer, studying the board. He'd moved one piece, a bishop. I smirked. It wasn't a half bad move. But I had one in response.

I moved a rook, then turned around and went back to the kitchen. Let's see how he would respond to _that_ move.

Just as I put the cake in the oven there's a knock on the door. Immediately there's a knife in my hand and I'm in the most advantageous position in the room if I'm forced to fight.

I stayed silent, watching the door in anticipation.

"Cashile?" A voice rung out, "I'm coming in...?"

I didn't relax at all when I heard Kakashi's voice behind the door. It could be anything, anyone: a transformation, someone mimicking, Kakashi held hostage...

There was a 97% chance it was Kakashi, not anyone else, but hey... You could never be too careful.

Kakashi opened the door and I readied myself, staring silently. He took a moment to spot me but when he did, he immediately froze. Raising a hand in a placating gesture, Kakashi took a slow step forward. I watched with narrowed eyes.

"Cashile," he called, "It's just me."

I stayed in my defensive stance, not saying a word.

"I'll prove it," he said. I waited as he slowly reached into his pocket, pulling out chakra inhibitors. He placed them on himself. "See? Not a transformation."

"Could be fake," I responded carefully.

Kakashi took a step forward and I finally relaxed. "Sorry about that Kakashi," I set down the knife, "Couldn't be sure, y'know?"

Kakashi looked confused. "How can you know now?"

I pointed towards the camouflaged trap. "A Claw would have seen that and under no circumstances would it allow itself to stand where a trap could strike, even if trying to earn my trust. You saw it," Kakashi's eyebrows shot up at this, "Yes, I noticed you saw the trap, and yet you deliberately set yourself in it's path to give me the control. No Claw would take that risk."

"Kakashi? Everything alright?" Ibiki's voice floated up the stairs and around the corner.

I wrinkled my nose. "Seriously, does he _have_ to be here?"

Kakashi sighed. "I swear, all you two _want_ to do is apologize to one another and make up, but your both stuck in 'hostile' mode."

"Stunning deduction, Kakashi," I responded sarcastically.

Ibiki's heavy footsteps sounded up the stairs. He appeared in my doorway, glowering. "Come on, brat," he grumbled. "How long are you planning on making us wait?"

I winced, trying not to think about what's in store for me. "I have a cake in the oven," I tell him.

A look of horror spreads across his face. "Y-you're? You're?" I stared at him, confused as he spluttered. "You're p-p-p-" Red blossoms on his face.

Realization hits me hard and I started laughing. "You're thinking of ' _bun_ in the oven'," I snorted. "Jesus Ibiki, I'm barely..." I stop, confused. "I'm only..."

"You're sixteen now, Cashile," Kakashi informed me softly, sadly. "You'll turn seventeen soon."

I nodded, trying not to show my discomfort at not knowing something as simple as my age. "Then Aiden's almost eighteen? Is he still seventeen?"

"According to the papers he's twenty three," Kakashi joked. "The Hokage let him in even though he knew Aiden was lying."

"Are we done here?" Ibiki interjected, "Safety of the village and all that."

"I have a cake in the oven!" I protested.

"Too bad. We have work to do."

"I know about my parents."

Ibiki nodded. Kakashi winced. Tsunade glanced through the papers, scanning.

"I thought you might," Kakashi finally said. I stared straight ahead. "How much do you know?"

"They arrived in Konoha before I was born. My mother was pregnant with me, due to the fact that a pregnant woman isn't as suspicious. The fourth Hokage approved of them staying for long term residency. They became ninja of Konoha, and ascended the ranks quickly. But then they betrayed the Hokage, stole secrets, forbidden jutsus, plans and weaknesses of Konoha. They didn't escape, and they were caught."

"That's all correct," Kakashi nodded.

"But the Hokage never could find where they hid the secrets, and my parents were killed by an assassin before you could interrogate them," I drone emotionlessly. "Then the question became centered around me. What to do with me."

"I suppose now we know the assassin was the Claw of the Phoenix," Tsunade said thoughtfully.

"Many people thought I should be exiled from the village. I was the daughter of two spies. I myself could be a spy, or at the the very least a spy in training. But the Hokage saw me not as an enemy but as a three year old girl. He gave me a second chance, locked away my memories before the age of three, gave me a new life, and put me into an orphanage. I never realized until now that the headmistress of the orphanage was an ANBU. And when I got my own place, my own apartment, he put me under ANBU watch."

"Correct," Ibiki conceded.

"What the Hokage never guessed was that _I_ was the hiding place," I murmured. "My parents sealed Konoha's secrets into my mind for safekeeping. And eleven years later, The Rising Phoenix received those secrets."

I lowered my head. "I could not keep them from obtaining the secrets despite your training, Ibiki," I said, "That's the door that was shattered open when all the others were closed."

"So you know the forbidden jutsus now?" Tsunade asked.

"I have knowledge of them," I corrected, "That doesn't mean I can perform them. While my chakra has significantly increased, I can't make hundreds of shadow clones like..." I searched for the name for a moment, and when I found it it fell heavily from my tongue. "Naruto."

"Very good," Tsunade paused in her scribbling, "What more can you tell us?"

I sat at the kitchen table, staring at the burnt black rock that was supposed to be a cake. The silence was deafening.

I shuddered as a memory of the torture ripped through me. Remembering, recalling everything I could was painful. But they insisted. Even when I was begging, even when I called for a break they insisted on continuing. Occasionally someone would get me a glass of water or a meal or pause to ask me if I took my pneumonia medicine today but overall it was a day of remembering without a break to catch my breath.

It was fairly upsetting.

Traumatizing.

I heard the door click open and almost immediately recognized it as Aiden. "Sorry I'm late!" He called out, "Aisa decided to stay out after school so I had to pick him up from the park. Sorry if you worried about him. He should be home in about five minutes."

I stared at the burnt cake in silence, struggling to find a mask of strength to slide over my face before Aiden stepped into the room. But then it was too late and he was there and he _saw_ me.

He froze. "Cashile? Are you okay?"

I can't help it. I burst into tears.

His eyes widened, unused to such displays of emotion from me. But then he's all action, hurrying around the kitchen table to comfort me, offering tea and reassuring words as I sobbed.

"What's wrong, Cashile?" He rubbed my back, "What's wrong?"

I think about the torture and the remembering and wishing I was dead and killing all the people and staring at my pinky as it was being sewn back on but I choose none of these to say out loud.

"The cake," I finally choke out between my tears.

"I burnt the fucking cake."

Hey! Please review! Reviews are inspirational and very much welcome XD

So yeah! Review!


	7. Chapter Six - Assignment

Three weeks.

It had been three weeks since I came back from the dead.

My first two weeks, 8 Claws attacked me. I took each one down without a second thought. I only had trouble with three of them, but none came close to truly harming me. Not to mention the ANBU generally either took them out or helped me before it got out of hand.

Now, the attacks had stopped which worried me slightly. They were no longer sending amateurs then. They were probably hardcore training a Claw specifically to kill _me._

I would be ready.

Thankfully, Tsunade had officially ended my interrogation. They had received all information I held on the Rising Phoenix with minimal resistance. Thankfully as well they hadn't pushed when I refused to relinquish details on my training, on _their_ training methods.

I had suffered through one flashback.

I wince as I remember that. The panic that had gripped me as the memory ripped through me, ripped me apart.

It sucked. And it had obviously left a lasting impression on Tsunade, Ibiki, and Kakashi.

I absently dodge a woman holding what appeared to be hundred grocery bags. Tsunade had summoned me to her office. I wasn't quite sure why.

When I got the the hokage's room, I knocked only for courtesy purposes, before walking into the room uninvited. Technically, I'd been invited the moment she summoned me, anyways.

I pause in my entrance when I notice a familiar pink haired kunoichi anxiously talking with Tsunade.

So _that's why._ Tsunade was trying to reunite me with what was left of my old team?

"Cashile," Tsunade greeted. Slight irritation crosses her face at my lack of patience at the door.

Sakura whirls around and covers her mouth, clearly shocked. "So... It's true," she whispers. Guilt must have really torn her up after my disappearance, I suppose. She _did_ accuse me of being a complete traitor, and tried to order the remaining team 7 to _kill_ me.

She bounds over to me, and crushes me in a hug. "Oh Cashile, I'm _so_ sorry," she sobs into my shoulder.

I try not to grimace and force a smile. It was very obviously forced.

"It's cool, Sakura. I'm still here, aren't I?" I try to comfort, attempting to pry myself from her tight hold.

I glare at Tsunade. She _had to_ set this up. I was perfectly satisfied baking, burning cakes in my apartment, waiting for Claws to attack, cooking real food and most importantly, _not_ socializing with people from my past.

Oh God. I did sound like a complete crazy, didn't I?

There had to be some other reason for this though. The only logical reason I could come up with was that she was worried about my mental health.

I mean, _I_ would be worried about my health after the last questioning session I'd participated in, when they tried to pry further into how exactly I'd been trained.

After a very one sided tearful reunion, Tsunade cleared her throat, bringing Sakura out of her hazy state of mind. "Well, Cashile, I have a proposal. It's more of an assignment, than anything. An order if you will."

I raise my eyebrow, prompting her to continue. "Sakura, you're dismissed. Go back to the practice lab and review the last six chapters of your current book," Tsunade ordered.

"Yes, Lady Tsunade."

I didn't shift under the hokage's gaze. "I've discussed with your two sensei's," Tsunade started, "And we've decided to promote you to jonin." she declared.

"ANBU?" I perked up, hopeful. This was what I'd been training for since day 1.

"In due time. The promotion comes with a catch, actually," Tsunade said.

I wrinkled my nose in discontent. Not ANBU? This should be good.

"What is it?" I asked.

She hesitated for a moment. "We've decided to give you a genin team. Of course you can always go to Kakashi or Ibiki for guidance, but you're more than qualified for this position as a team leader."

She left no room for argument.

"A jonin sensei?" I asked, confused.

"We firmly believe that it will help... Rehabilitate you after... Recent events." She spoke distastefully of what she was referring to.

"No _fucking_ way," I snapped.

How in the world was I going to obtain power by... By supervising and teaching a bunch of snot nosed brats. I wouldn't be able to tolerate that for _years to come._

Tsunade honestly looked surprised. "I'm already bending the rules; double promotion isn't exactly... Common," she told me, "But under your circumstances I think it can be allowed."

"This still doesn't explain the idea of having a genin team!" I snap back, "I mean me, a sensei? Is that _really_ what you want?"

"Do you want to be a jonin?" Tsunade questions. I grudgingly nod. "Well, this is the only way that that is going to happen."

"Did you really just say that?" I laugh after a moment of amused disbelief, "Never tell me that there's only one way for me to accomplish what I want."

Tsunade gave me a glare. "Any other option but this is going to be made extremely, extremely difficult for you," she threatened. I roll my eyes and her glare deepens. I wince slightly. Time to reel back the sarcasm and change the subject.

"When is Naruto supposed to get back? And what happened to Sasuke?" I ask. They'd been avoiding the subject like the plague. Time to see if my prediction had come true.

"We predict that Naruto will return from his training in three to six months," Tsunade informs me. "As for Sasuke..." She trails off awkwardly.

"Ah, I see. So I was correct: he went off to Orochimaru?"

Tsunade nods. I twist my lips to the side thoughtfully. Power beyond compare... But apparently, it came with the price of being his pet.

That's not something I wanted.

"What does being a jonin sensei entail?" I ask, mildly curious.

Tsunade seemed relieved that I was biting. "Just because you become a Sensei doesn't mean your personal growth is put on hold. You might still receive missions on top of the C and D rank genin missions. Also-"

She kept rambling, listing off everything about being a sensei.

"Alright, I'll do it," I decide.

Tsunade let's out a relieved breath, then suddenly narrows her eyes. "And don't you dare simply fail the team so you can be a jonin without being a sensei," she warns.

I put a hand to my chest, gasping. "I'm hurt," I mock. "You think so little of me and my values?"

She gives me a dull look. "Yes."

I drop the act. "Fair enough," I nod.

"Remember, you will always be accompanied by a team of ANBU, even on missions," Tsunade said, "You won't even know they're there."

"One ANBU is standing just to the side of the window while another stands on top of the roof. Another is in the tree outside while another is on the ceiling just outside this door. The other ANBU on the team did a much better job of hiding."

Tsunade blinks, then scribbles something into a piece of paper. "Graduation is tomorrow, and teams will be made the next day," she informs me. "Be in my office in two days to receive your team information. Dismissed."

"Ah, actually, I have one more request," I say. Tsunade reluctantly nods, allowing me to continue. "Can I have a class list with information on all of the graduating academy students?"

Tsunade gives another sharp nod, pulling out some papers. "Be back in two days to receive your flak jacket and a new Konoha headband," she orders.

"Yes _ma'am_ ," I salute mockingly.

"Just get out," Tsunade points tiredly to the door. I raise an eyebrow then disappear, flickering out of the room.

I needed new clothes.

My old skirt, boots and jacket were just too... I don't know, but it just didn't work anymore. And they were slightly too small. And my old uniform of the Claw was completely and utterly too intimidating to wear around Konoha. I may don it again for high level missions, but as of now... Well, I didn't exactly want to wear it again.

And so I needed to go shopping.

"My God!" I exclaim, brushing through the clothes in the shop, "Half these clothes look as though they were made for a prostitute!"

The storeowner shoots me a dirty look. "Ya don't like what we have, don't buy it," she snaps.

"Infallible logic," I reply, "Now, do you have anything _not_ made of tissue paper that _won't_ fall off the moment I'm in a fight?"

She led me to the boy's section.

"Oh, fuck you," I mumble, but all the same I delve into the boy's clothing.

And I grinned at what I found.

The overcoat was slightly similar to Ibiki's, something I couldn't help but wrinkle my nose at. But it was tighter, with straps and pockets scatter over the material. While all the black was slightly off-putting, it worked. The outfit was protective, loose enough to allow movement but tight enough so it wouldn't be cumbersome. The boots I chose were the same material as the general ninja sandal but black.

Overall, it... Well, it worked.

I go to check out and the woman raises an eyebrow at me. "Really?" She asks. "You actually went for the boy's clothing? Whatcha tryin' ta prove?"

I raise an eyebrow. "Nothing in particular," I reply. She scans my choppy short hair and glanced back down to the boy's clothes before rolling her eyes and grabbing for it.

"Money is money," she muttered.

I brushed a hand through my hair. "Couldn't have said it better myself," I agreed.

When I got back to the apartment, two boys littered my couch. As Aiden had suggested, we were successfully living in harmony. Unless you count the constant bickerings between the three of us and who got to make dinner at night. Aisa _begged_ Aiden to make him cup ramen, but I of course tossed all of that nonsense _'food_ ' out.

"Nice clothes," Aiden commented casually, barely picking his head up from the book he was reading. I snickered at the reading glasses and he raised his head up enough to glare at me before returning his gaze to the book.

"Wow, you look awesome!" Aisa exclaimed, eyes wide. "Nii-chan, can _I_ get new clothes? Please please please? I'm _graduating_ tomorrow if I pass and then I'm going to be in a genin team in two days!"

"Sure kiddo, we'll go to the store tomorrow after I get off from work."

Aisa's shoulders slumped. "But that could take _forever._ "

"I'll take you tomorrow," I piped up. "I'll pick you up after school, deal?" I held out my fist and smiled.

"You don't have -" Aiden was interrupted by Aisa's joyous squeal as our fists connected.

"Deal!" He grinned.

I glanced over just as Aiden whipped his gaze back towards his book. "Whatcha reading?" I asked.

"Hamlet," he murmurs. I raise an eyebrow.

"Light reading," I comment. "Some interesting points are made in it though. 'For there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. To me it is a prison.'"

"What's a prison?" Aisa asks, bouncing on my leather couch, nearly crushing Aiden's legs.

"Denmark," I reply.

"Denmark?"

"The world. Konoha. This house. Take your pick," I throw out lazily.

"Interesting choice of quotes," Aiden remarks.

"And what would yours be?" I challenge.

"Doubt thou the stars are fire;  
Doubt that the sun doth move;  
Doubt truth to be a liar;  
But never doubt I love."

"Weak," I insult.

"And yours was better?"

I roll my eyes and turn towards the kitchen, throwing my coat over a chair. "Tea?" I call over my shoulder.

"Why not?" Aiden turns a page. "Aisa?"

"Can I have chocolate milk?"

"It's almost dinner time," Aiden replies, "You can have water, tea, or juice. Chocolate milk can wait."

"Uuuugggh!" Aisa groans, flopping back on the couch. "Fine. What's for dinner?"

"Caaassshiiiile?" Aiden shouted.

"What?"

"What's for diiiinnneerrrr?"

"No need to whine, Aiden," I snap, walking back into the living room and delivering Aiden's tea. "I have leftover beef and rice."

"I want ramen!" Aisa shouts.

"Ramen is _poison_ ," I appeal. "It's disgusting. Toxic. And besides, beef and rice will give you the energy to perform well on your tests tomorrow."

"Which you _should_ be studying for," Aiden says pointedly.

"Uuuggh, studying is borrrringg."

"You said it," I agree.

"Keep getting all As on your report card and I won't bother you," Aiden promises.

Silence falls between us as I start to heat up the leftovers. I was just relaxing, watching as the beef sizzled in the pan.

"Cashile!"

I jump, a knife leaping to hand as I whirled. I let out a breath and relax when I see Aisa standing behind me. "Geez Aisa, there's no need to shout!"

"I'm sooorrrryyy," Aisa pouts.

I glance up and see Aiden watching us worriedly. "It's okay," I reassure them both. " _We're_ okay." I glance pointedly towards Aiden, who takes his cue and returns to his reading.

"What did you want, Aisa?"

"Can you help me practice for my exam?" He begs.

I nearly immediate shot him down before pausing. I'd have to deal with even more idiotic genin than Aisa soon.

Might as well get used to it.

Dinner went well, and now I was drinking another cup of tea with Aiden as we played our game of chess. Aisa had gone to sleep at Aiden's insistence, though there'd been little to no struggle after he pointed out that Aisa need his rest for the exam tomorrow.

"Your hair is a lot shorter," Aiden comments. "And kind of choppy."

I accidentally knock over a knight. "Dammit," I mutter, putting it upright.

"Why'd you cut it? Your hair is gorgeous."

"Yeah, long hair is absolutely fantastic until someone grabs it in a fight and you end up dead," I snap back sarcastically.

"I guess," Aiden shrugs. "It's pretty in long pigtails."

"Fuck!" I swipe at the chessboard, breathing heavily. "You really think I had a choice in whether I had my hair cut or kept it long?"

Aiden gazed at me for several long moments before beginning to upright the upturned pieces, evidently having memorized where the pieces had been. The silence stretched before us.

"That pawn was at A5, not A6," I finally say, pointing at the black pawn. Aiden nods his thanks.

"I can cut your hair if you want," he offers casually.

My head snaps around. "Cut my hair?"

"Just a trim, if that's what you want," he replies evenly.

I squeeze my eyes shut and he leans forward, putting his hands on my shoulders. "Thank you," I whisper, opening my eyes and staring into his smile. "I'd like that."

"It's no problem, Cashile."

Later that night I lay slumped on the couch, sleeping on the opposite side of where Aiden sat. We'd fallen asleep reading Hamlet together.

"Aiden?" I ask sleepily, not even opening my eyes as my voice disappeared into the dark room. Silence greets me. "Aiden?"

I nearly had fallen asleep again when I heard a slight shift from the other end of the couch then felt a hand in my newly trimmed hair. Then Aiden whispered three quiet words that followed me into my sleep.

"Still here, Cashile."

REVIEW PLEASE! Hope you guys enjoyed :)


	8. Chapter Seven - Team Ten

The next two days zipped by fast.

I stood in front of Lasy Tsunade, ready to receive what I had asked for.

"Here's the list, with name and class rank," She said, handing me a sheet of paper. "I've highlighted the genin who will be under you."

I scan the list of names, and raise an eyebrow. "You're putting Aisa on my team? I mean, no objections, but aren't you worried about personal relations?"

"As far as I'm concerned, there is no legal relationship to you and this boy. And from what I've heard, he'll help in your rehabilitation quite drastically," Tsunade replie, not glancing up from her own papers.

I looked at the other two names highlighted in the list.

 **Kento Mikuyo; rank 1**

 **Michiko Kuren; rank 2**

The first detail that I noticed was the ranking. Aisa was ranked 3rd.

"You gave me the top 3 in intelligence," I stated.

"Yes, well I thought it would work best. I want your team to specialize in infiltration, and those three graduated top of the class in intelligence."

I felt a little comfort in knowing that Aisa was on my team due to his own skill and not just because of who he is and who I am.

"Well, that's something that I can do." I assured. Assassination was my specialty, and infiltration was second nature to an assassin.

"And here is your flak jacket and headband. The flak jacket is not required, though it is highly recommended and most use it on missions. Understand?"

"Yes," I nod, taking the proffered items.

"Then I leave them in your capable hands," Tsunade said. "Dismissed."

"I don't believe you," The red head said, glancing over me. "There's no way someone as young as you is our sensei."

"Judging someone before you even know their name?" I raise an eyebrow. Aisa subtly shook his head at his friend, warning him against challenging me. "Fine."

I push myself off the doorway, ignoring the stares of the genin who's sensei had yet to pick them up. "What are you going to do?" He asked, eyes half closed and clearly conveying his boredom.

"You're used to being one of the smartest people in the room, aren't you?" I smirk, leaning over his desk. He doesn't respond. "Well, in reality, the moment I stepped into this room you got knocked down a peg. Get used to it."

"How long until our _real_ sensei gets here?" He fires back.

I take a step back, pushing my coat out of the way to stick my hand into my pant pocket. "Iruka isn't here to protect you little academy students anymore," a cruel smile spread across my face. "The rules have changed. Fine," I nod, "I'll race you. Team ten, stand up."

Aisa, the purple haired girl, and the red head stood. "Where are we racing?" Aiden asked, always up for a challenge.

"To the top of the Hokage mount," I reply.

The purple haired girl, Minori, raised her hand. "Must we partake in this race?"

"Yes. I'll give you guys a two minute head start. Go."

I say 'go' normally, hoping to catch at least one of them off guard. To my surprise all three jumped away and began the race as soon as the word passed my lips.

I smirked. This was going to be interesting.

I gave everyone who was watching me a close-eyed smile at two minutes. "Peace." I said casually, and to the naked Eye, I then disappeared. All that trailed behind me was the faintest breeze.

I ran with inhuman speed, just what was trained into me. Soon, I perched myself on top of the hokage's mountain, not a sweat broken. Okay, so there may have been a slight sweat, but that doesn't sound as cool.

As far as I knew, only Lee and his sensei could beat me when it came to speed, even when I added my chakra. But then again, I hadn't exactly raced Kakashi or others.

12 minutes and 7 seconds later, the red head made his appearance, dripping sweat, gasping for oxygen.

2 minutes and 27 seconds later,  
Aisa followed. He joined with red head, gasping for breath over his knees, unable to speak.

A total of 17 minutes passed before the girl, Michiko, staggered into sight. By this time, both the boys had caught their breaths and were lying flat on their backs, staring at the clouds.

"I... Can't," Michiko coughed out.'

"Yes you can, it's all in the mind." I said, twirling a kunai disinterestedly.

"C'mon Michi!" Aisa yelled. I raised my eyebrow. A nickname, huh?

Aisa scurried up on his feet and ran over to Michiko, carrying three fourths of her weight up the rest of the hill.

"See, you did it!" He smiled brightly.

"Thank you, Aisa-san," Michiko muttered softly, red blossoming on her face.

I smirked. Little Michiko has a crush on Aisa.

"So _what_ if you beat us here, you're fast. That still doesn't mean you're our sensei. Sensei's can't be as young as you. Come on, you're what, two years older than us? Don't you have to be... _Skilled?_ " The red head questioned.

It didn't bother me. I was obviously better than him, and half the jonin in the village.

In a flash, red head was on the ground, my foot pushing his face in the dirt, with his arms being held back by my hands at an awkward angle.

He let out a sharp cry. "And yet you showed up here and raced the others. That shows that, at least subconsciously, you think I'm your sensei and want to impress me. Well, color me _unimpressed_. Any more questions?" I asked the group. _My_ group.

Blech.

Aisa and Michiko shook their heads. "What about you, Kento? Or should I prove my _skills_ in more ways?"

He attempted to shake his head under my foot and his words were garbled. "Nerg senthei"

I lifted my foot and Kento rubbed his rock embedded cheek, glaring at me. "Get used to it," I snapped. "Also, you _idiot_ , I'm clearly _four_ years older than you. Imbecile."

He snapped his head to the side, glaring.

"Now, back to the beginning. Yes, blah blah. I'm required to test you, blahhhhh, basically. Fail or pass. If you fail you go back to the academy. Pass, you get to be genin and learn from muah. And for your information? I'm just _itching_ to fail you guys. Less work for me. Capiche? Any questions? No? Good, training grounds tomorrow at 5, don't be late." I said, on a roll.

Hah, it's funny going back to the old days when I had to listen to my very first sensei give me this speech along with my _idiotic_ teammates. I totally outsmarted that test of course.

Back then I was an artist. I painted the picture, exactly how I imagined it. The colors, each stroke of the brush, it was all my will, my manipulation, my careful scheming.

And then the Rising Phoenix took it all away from me. They destroyed all my paintings.

But at this point I accepted that. Because all my paintings led to one true end for me.

Power.

And in the end, the Rising Phoenix gave that to me. Sure, their methods were unorthodox, and I had to fight for my freedom, but I plunged through their hold, with the power they instilled in me.

I hated them for it.

"You don't want us to... Introduce ourselves?" Michiko asked hesitantly.

I looked at her dully. "What's the point of introductions if I fail you tomorrow? You guys can go now," I said, waving off the three genin, just _staring_ at me.

How in hell was this supposed to be rehabilitation?

"Caaashiiiiiillle!"

I sidestepped Aisa's flying body, allowing him to slam into the door I had just walked through. Letting out a breath, I ran my hand through sweaty hair. I'd just gotten back from training, and all I wanted was a glass of milk.

But Aisa was having none of that. "Why didn't you tell me you were gonna be my sensei? This is so awesome! You're going to be the best sensei ever! What's the test tomorrow gonna be like? What are you gonna teach us? Will I be able to move as fast as you? And why didn't you come to my graduation? Why didn't you take me to get new clothes like you promised? Do you-"

I set down my glass of milk loudly, cutting him off. "You should prepare for your test tomorrow, Aisa," I say emotionlessly, exhaustion pulling at my eyelids. "Listen, Aisa, tell Aiden that I went to bed. It's gonna be an early night for me, okay?"

Aisa stared at me, confused. "A-alright, Cashile. Do you want me to bring you dinner?"

I shake my head, already walking away. "No, that won't be necessary."

I could feel Aisa's eyes burning into me as I trudged to the bedroom in silence.

I collapsed on the bed, burying my head into the pillows. It had been a long day. Dealing with the kids was exhausting.

And it was a bad day for _me_. For my memories of my time with The Rising Phoenix.

I couldn't get comfortable on the bed, and finally ended up dragging a pillow and blanket into the corner. Ever since I'd gotten myself back I'd had a constant, nagging fear of becoming too cold. So despite the warmth of Konoha's sunny season I kept a blanket wrapped around me.

The unforgiving solidity of the ground offered a strange form of comfort and familiarity. Some small part of me was still the Claw of the Phoenix and craved how I had once lived. The order, the simplicity, the a to b logic... It was somehow appealing.

And I hated it.

I heard the door open and Aiden call out a greeting. I forced myself deeper into to the corner of the room, struggling to force the surging memories back.

After some time the door cracked open. Aiden took a moment to spot me in the corner. His soft footsteps came closer, and then he kneeled quietly next to me. I couldn't help but flinch away when he reached a hand out and felt a inexplicable rush of guilt at the flash of hurt on his face.

"Gonna be a bad night?" He asked softly.

"It's gonna be a fucking shitty one," I reply through gritted teeth.

"Did something happen?"

I shake my head. "Just one of those nights," I laugh awkwardly, choking it out.

He sat down next to me. "Are you ever going to tell me everything that happened to you when you were gone?"

I stay silent for several moments, then answer, "Are you ever going to tell me everything you did, everything you sacrificed for your brother?"

His breath catches in his throat before evening out again. "Maybe one day," he finally conceded.

"But not today," I complete. "Exactly."

And then we started talking. At least. Aiden mostly did. He spoke of Aisa and his classes, how excited he was to have me as a sensei, what Aisa thought of his teammates, how his job was going... Anything, really. And surprisingly it helped, the constant murmur of conversation lulling me into a relaxing state of forgetfulness.

"Thank you, Aiden," I whisper quietly while he was in the middle of a sentence.

"Sorry, what?" He asks, smiling down at me. "What did you say?"

"Hm? Nothing," I reassure him. "Don't worry about it."

"It didn't really matter."

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	9. Chapter Eight - Testing and Fang

The sun had barely risen, not shedding much light on the training grounds, where I stood at 4:30. The breeze brought me back to three or four years ago, how perfect the weather had been back then for my test. And also how weak I was back then.

I would give them a fair test, to satisfy Tsunade and her crazy antics of this 'rehabilitation' nonsense.

A fair test, but a hard one. The thought of Aisa softened my mind a little towards the outcome of their expected failure's, but Aisa shouldn't live this life if he wasn't prepared for the suffering and damage it would bring him.

I thought long and hard, until the soon bloomed at 5, and my genin stood in front of me.

"You didn't wait for me," Aisa accused, crossing his arms over.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I'm your sensei now kiddo, not your brother's..."

Now that I thought about it, I didn't know what Aiden and I were. Acquaintances? What kind of relationship did we have? Parasitic? Predatory? Mutualistic?

"Friend?" Aisa asked, finishing my sentence.

Friend.

"Yeah," I replied, going with it.

"Isn't that favoritism?" Red head asked, clearly irritated to be up this early in the morning. I smirked, knowing that my test would wake him up.

"Shut up," I said, not bothering to confirm or deny his nonsensical accusations.

"So what's our test?" A wide eyed Michiko asked me. I read her on the spot. She was very obviously intimidated by my presence.

I mean, I did use to be The Claw, a S ranked assasin. Not that they knew it. But it was kind of hard to tone down that intimidating presence.

"Follow me," I turned on my heels and led them to where I had prepared their test this morning.

I walked towards a cliff, where a fountain of water spewed off the edge. Then I turned to my students. "Alright, this will be your testing sight."

"Woah," Aisa murmured. "Never been here before."

The redhead snorted. "My brother used to take me here to train all the time, I have water type chakra you know," he bragged, smirking big time.

I rolled my eyes. Let's see that huge smirk on his face after this. I drew blood from my thumb, did the hand signs, and said the mandatory, "Summoning Jutsu."

A large spider appeared in front of me.

Michiko let out a squeal of surprise and terror.

"Don't worry, we're in agreement. This is my summoning, so he won't hurt you unless I tell him to."

"Uh... Did you tell it to?" Kento asked, nervousness seeping into his voice.

"As we previously discussed," I said to the spider, ignoring Kento. The spider quickly scurried through and inside the hidden cave domain that lay beyond the waterfall.

Watching the spider move so lithely, even Kento looked nervous. I had to restrain my mocks.

"Get over it," I told the three, who's faces were plastered with fear and doubt. "Either you're able to push down that fear, and get the mission done, or you're not fit to be a ninja. No one said this job was easy." I lectured, not bothering to tone down my bluntness.

"As you three saw, there is a spider in those caves that lie behind the waterfall-"

"What's with the dog?"

I glance over and see the small ninja hound Kakashi had allowed me to borrow for the day. "Ah, right on time," I nod to the dog and it jumps away, joining the spider.

"Oh, I seem to have lost my pet Fang," I say in a 'whoopsie' tone of voice. "Would you mind catching him for me?"

Kento looked at me with contempt. " _This_ is your test? Like you can make us catch your stupid dog for you."

I drop the facade and appear behind Michiko. Stabbing her neck with a syringe, I plunge the contents into her body. She grabs at her neck and glares. "What did you do to me?" She snaps.

I boredly pick at my nails. "Don't worry, it's a _slow acting_ poison."

All three genin gasped. "You _poisoned_ her?!" Aisa exclaimed.

I shrug. "Just as a bit of motivation. Retrieve Fang for me and I'll give her the cure. Oh, and you probably will want to accomplish this by lunchtime. That's when the worst of the effects tend to start.

The three genin rushed forward, eager not to waste time.

Their first mistake.

These genin. These three genin.

I stare in complete awe at the three bedraggled genin. "My God," I whisper, looking at each of them in turn. They pant tiredly, trying to catch their breath. "My _God_!" I repeat, awestruck.

"You guys really are _complete_ idiots, aren't you?"

Kento glared at me while Aisa practically wilts at my statement. Michi doesn't respond, opting instead to stare at me in terror.

"I know we didn't catch Fang, but just give Michi the cure!" Aisa shouts.

I stare him down seriously. "But you haven't passed my test. Besides, the worst that she should be experiencing at the moment is trembling hands and slight dizziness."

Right on cue her hands begin to shake.

"Oh no," she whimpers, staring at her hands. "Give me the cure! I don't wanna die!"

I have to close my eyes at her obnoxious whining. Just as I'm about to reprimand her a different voice cuts across.

"Pull yourself together, Michiko!" Kento snaps, "You're a kunoichi, not some weak girl with no backbone!"

Aisa opens his mouth to defend her, but stops when Michi takes a deep breath and nods. "You're right," she agrees. "My symptoms aren't so bad that I can't help capture Fang. What's the plan?"

I watch, interest in the events spiking as I witness this new side of Michi unfold. There was something about her, a sort of _focus_ and _drive_ that made it where I could see just how she was in the top of her class.

These three genin _were_ smart.

When they weren't being idiots.

The dog and the spider had both exited the caves and were now in open ground. Aisa seemed excited about this, but Kento pointed out that it would be harder to pin the dog down and easier for the spider to get behind them.

"But the spider clearly had the superior advantage with the rocky tunnel terrain," Aisa retorts. "And this way neither the dog nor the spider can just disappear from sight!

"That's true," Kento concedes.

"You're probably getting a cold sweat by now," I interject, watching Michi disinterestedly. "Muscles are going to start cramping soon."

She ignores me and begins to lay out the foundations of a plan. I have to hide the smirk. She really was interesting. Kento was the better leader, but here she was with a mediocre-if not all that creative-plan.

"So we just need a tactic that stops the spider from getting behind us while we capture Fang," Michi muses. "Kento and I should flank the dog while Aisa backs us up. Aisa, you need to make sure that the spider doesn't sneak up on us while we try and catch Fang. Got it?"

Aisa and Kento nod.

The plan almost immediately goes badly.

Aisa was pinned by the spider. To my surprise it's Kento, not Michi that hesitates and glances back towards him.

"The mission," she reminds Kento coldly. He nods, turning back to the dog and ignoring Aisa as he struggled.

Kakashi certainly wouldn't pass this team.

But I wasn't Kakashi.

And they still hadn't passed _my_ test.

Aisa let's out a shout of terror as the spider opens it's mouth, revealing frightening long fangs. He struggles harder before sudden realization washes over him despite the terror that was obviously coursing through his body.

"Fang!" He shouts towards his teammates.

"We know what the dog is called, but thank you _so much_ for your input!" Kento snaps tightly as the dog dodges from his grasp once again.

"No! Not the dog! The _spider_ is Fang!"

It takes a second for it to set in, but when it does both Michi and Kento whirl around, sprinting towards the spider.

I can't hide the smirk anymore. It took them long enough, but finally they'd realized. _Idiots_ , I grin.

Suddenly Michi collapsed into one knee, face contorted in pain. "My leg is cramping because of the poison!" She shouts through gritted teeth. "I can't move!"

"One second," Kento replies as the spider turns it's attention towards her helpless figure.

"Helllppp," she calls nervously as the spider begins it's terrifying gallop at her.

"Just a moment," Aisa calls back.

"Heeeellllppp!" Her shout slowly turns into a screech as she flinches and closes her eyes, preparing for the impact.

It never comes.

Just before the spider reaches Michiko it sprawls forward, tripping over nothing. Aisa and Kento then rush towards the spider, ninja wire in their hands as they capture the spider.

Nice. A trip wire. And using their teammate as bait no less.

The three collapse in front of me once again, exhausted. "Give her the antidote," Kento glares.

"C'mon Cashile!" Aisa begs.

"Cashile- _sensei_ ," I correct absentmindedly. "Did you _hog-tie_ the spider?"I question incredulously.

"What, did you want your pet delivered some other way?" Kento snaps viciously.

I shrug casually. "My summoning, actually. Not a pet. And no, I just didn't think I'd ever see a spider hog-tied. So many legs!"

"Enough messing around! Give me the cure!" Michiko demanded.

"For what?"

"The poison!" They all shout.

"Poison? I would never poison one of my own students!" I gasp, mock affronted.

"We watched you do it," Kento deadpans.

"What you watched me do is deliver a harmless saline solution. No poison," I tell them.

"But... My symptoms..."

"Didn't I tell you what each of your symptoms were going to be before they appeared?" I ask. She nods slowly. "The mind is a powerful thing."

"You mean I just felt those symptoms because I _thought_ I was going to?!" She exclaimed.

"Exactly," I smirk. "I was counting on your mind being easy to influence. Most are."

I give a nod to the spider and it disappears. "Thanks," I wave to the dog. It barks once, as if to say, _That was fun! Let's do it again sometime!_

"You lied to us," Kento challenged me. "You said that we had to get the dog. But the _spider_ was actually your "pet" Fang."

"Uh uh uh," I shake my finger mockingly. "Not once did I say the dog was my "pet" Fang. You just assumed so. Learn to listen and notice every detail."

They nod grudgingly.

"So..." Aisa asks slowly.

"Yes?"

"Did we pass?" He blurts out. "We caught Fang and got him back and realized it was the spider and not the dog and you didn't even poison Michi so did we pass?"

I pinch the bridge of my nose. "Despite all the future headaches this is going to bring me, yes. Yes, you pass. I'd be an idiot _not_ to pass you. Meet me here tomorrow at 8 am for our first mission. Team Ten, you're dismissed!"

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	10. Chapter Nine - Training

Aisa was wearing new clothes.

I wince slightly. I hadn't taken him out to shop despite promising him I would. Then I shrug. What did it matter? Aiden took him anyways and he still got his new clothes.

"Alright, now that we're officially a team, it's time for introductions," I announce. "But we're going to do this slightly differently. Aisa is going to introduce Kento, Kento will introduce Michiko and Michiko will be introducing Aisa."

"Huh?" Aisa asked. "Introduce other people? How? Like just their names?"

"Anything you want," I shrug. "Whatever you know about them, whatever you've learned through observation."

"I don't really get it," Michiko admits. "Can you give us an example?"

I sigh slightly. "Fine. I will introduce Michiko, Michiko will do Aisa, Aisa will do Kento and Kento will do me. That's the new and final order. Got it?"

They nod. I study Michiko once more before opening my mouth to speak.

"This is Michiko," I stated the obvious for their benefit. "She was raised by her mom, single but going around," Michiko winced slightly. "She relies on others too much and knows that she does. Therefore she tries to work hard to become useful in missions. She's mildly skilled in all three jutsu's, and can work to better herself in all categories. I do sense however that her greatest will be genjutsu." I finish the invasive but very brief observational explanation and give the girl a pointed look. "You aren't working hard enough, just thought you might want to know."

Michiko's face is bright red as she nods furiously.

"Now, Michiko, your turn," I said, giving her permission to take the stand.

Still red, Michiko slightly sputtered. "This is Aisa," she introduced. "He loves ramen and his older brother Aisa. He's strongest in taijutsu, and needs to work more with his chakra. He's a nice guy," her last sentence was accompanied by a blush.

Aisa's face blushed too, but only in the slightest. I would have been the only one able to detect it. I tilt my head slightly. The introduction she had given was mediocre at best. But it seemed as though she had known more, based on her body language and posture, yet had simply not said them. Why?

Oh. Ugh. Because she _cared_.

Aisa was now wearing a smirk. "This is Kento, and he's an idiot." He starts out. Ah, the rivalry of two boys on a team. Camaraderie and idiocy combine. Kento playfully punched him in the arm. But they seemed to be good friends as well.

Aisa continued. "He loves sushi and macaroni and cheese! Kento is best at ninjutsu; he can do some awesome jutsu with his chakra! That doesn't make him any less of an idiot though," he finished with a little laugh.

Kento then turned to moi. I smirked a little as he observed me carefully. Let's see what this genin could correctly observe about me, without barely knowing me.

It would also give me more insight to his intelligence gathering skill.

"You're deadly," The two words spilled out of his mouth in a moment of stunned silence.

So blunt, without fear.

My smirk widened. I _liked_ that. "Bravo, tell me, what else?"

The air chilled a little and I could sense Michiko and Aisa getting mildly uncomfortable.

"You're broken."

In an instant, Kento was on his back, my foot being five milliseconds away from crushing his chest so that his ribs punctured his heart. He would die a death is extreme pain, gasping for each last breath, begging for-

"Cashile," Aisa whispered with trembles. Fear laced his voice.

My vision had turned red and it took a moment to adjust. Instead of showing weakness I acted along. "I may have assigned you to observe me, but I and still your sensei. Talk to me like that again and I'll crush your windpipe."

I allowed to to get up. He managed to slowly, shock spread across his face like butter on toast.

"Care to continue?" I asked.

He was smart enough to shake his head violently.

While he was completely out of line, at least I knew that Tsunade was right about these three kids being able to meet my expectations.

"Well then, that's it for the introductions. I suppose we should do some sort of team bonding exercise," I said in a cheerful voice.

The three genin were confused by my sudden change in attitude. In the back of my mind I sighed slightly. Despite everything, they were still idiots.

"Michiko and Kento, step to the side. Aisa, come stand next to me," I ordered. They all preformed.

"Now fight, an all out battle. Use anything and everything you've got and you're surrounded by. Ready?"

A look of terror crossed Michiko's fast. "You're going to get beat down a million times before you learn to stand on your own, Michiko. You have to learn to get over your fear." I advised.

I watched Kento smirk and I rolled my eyes. "Go," I commanded.

Immediately Michiko flew back in a defensive manner and observed Kento from afar. Good, that was a smart move.

But Kento didn't give her the time to settle down. He sprinted forward, throwing a barrage of kunai towards her. She flipped upside down on the branch, dodging neatly. But Kento didn't stop there.

He sprinted up the trunk of the tree using wall running and pushed off just as he began to lose momentum, thrusting himself towards Michiko. He sounded in midair, catching her face with a round house kick. She allowed the force to push her backwards, away from Kento.

Kento pursued in the air and dipped down to increase his speed. He flipped in the air and kicked down, hard into Michiko's back, sending her straight to the ground.

And Michiko stayed down.

"What a shark," I murmured, taking notes. No feelings to spare for his teammates in battle.

I can see why Tsunade wanted me to train them. So much promise.

But so many bad habits they were buried under.

Like Kento now. He had continued his barrage, despite the fact that his advantage was used up. Michiko had recuperated from the sudden attacks and calmed, eyes flicking back and forth across the clearing, assessing, studying, laying the groundwork of a plan as she defended against Kento's all out assault.

Michiko and I saw her opportunity at the same time. As Kento lunged towards a dummy opening, overextending himself in the effort to land a hit, Michiko countered. She slid to one side, striking him hard in the side and sending him stumbling towards a low hanging tree branch. His head slammed into the branch and he fell. Michiko was on top of him in an instant, fist pulled back in preparation for the end blow.

She glanced toward me uncertainly. I raised an eyebrow, staying silent. "Are you going to call the match?"

"I don't see a winner yet," I all I responded.

"You want me to knock him out?" She asked.

"I want you to guarantee your win," I replied emotionlessly.

Kento took opportunity of her distraction to buck her off, switching their positions. He placed a kunai to her throat and glared at me. "Call the match or I slit her throat."

"Kento!" Aisa exclaimed in horror.

I smirked. "You would never. But still. Match over, Kento wins. Yay, congrats, whatever it is you normally do."

They shook hands and stepped away from each other. "That's cheap!" Michiko complained. "I won that match!"

I stare blankly at her. As the Claw, with the Rising Phoenix, matches ended in one or two ways.

One: a knock out, or the inability for the opponent to continue.

Two, and the more common: death.

These kids weren't used to such harsh rules. Maybe I _did_ need to hold back more.

But then they would never learn, or worse; they would learn the harder way, like me.

Not that I cared how they learned.

Everything was the same to me. Aisa was the only one I was concerned about, for my own selfish reasons.

"Kento and Aisa, you're up," I said nonchalantly.

"Alright! A real fight," Kento said enthusiastically.

Michiko glared. "I'll make you pay for that you bastard,"

"Douchebag," Aisa agreed.

"Enough," I cut. If these two were Claw trainees they'd be starving, beaten down and in metal cages by now. "Focus on the fight at hand Kento. Start," I said.

Aisa had given Kento a beating for his money. I was proud of him. Evidencing self defense lessons from his brother since forever couldn't hurt. Aisa not only smart, but physically strong enough to hold his own against his teammates.

It was dusk and the three genin were sweatily plastered all over the grass.

"Nice job today, guys. Prepare for worse tomorrow. Same time, same place. C'mon Aisa, let's get home." I ordered.

He let out some type of groan but picked himself up off the ground.

"Cya guys," he said.

"Sensei's pet," Kento muttered bitterly under his breath.

Aisa's eyes hardened. "Cashile was part of my family _before_ she became our sensei _Baka_ so just shut your face and _get over it,_ " he snapped.

I raised my eyebrow.

 _Family._

"Let it go, kid," I said firmly, though I was proud on the inside.

"Yes, Cashile," he complied and followed. "Can we get ramen?" He begged.

"No," I replied firmly.

"Ramen with pork and vegetables?"

" _No_ ," I repeated. "Ramen is-"

"Poison, toxic, yeah, I get it. But it tastes good! C'mon, I just officially became a genin! Let's get Aiden and go out for dinner!"

I sigh. "Fine," I give in. "But that doesn't mean _I'm_ eating any!"

"Yes!" He exclaimed happily.

"Ask your brother first. If he says yes, then fine."

He barely pauses. "He'll say yes!" He laughs.

Aisa burst through the front door, screeching Aiden's name. "AidenAidenAidenAidenAidenAidenAiden!"

Aiden looks up from a pile of papers on his desk, and I let out a slight snicker at the reading glasses he wore. "Yes, Aisa?"

"Can we go out for ramen?!"

Aiden takes off his glasses and rubs at his eyes. "Ask Cashile," he ordered.

"I did!" Aisa grinned.

"And what did Cashile say?" Aiden questioned.

"She said fine but to ask you," Aisa reported.

"Well then, if Cashile said fine and you want to go, I guess Ichiraku's it is," Aiden squints his eyes into a soft smile.

"Yessssss!" Aisa turned to me. "You have to try at least _one_ bowl, _please_?"

And that's how I ended up sitting at the ramen stand looking over the ramen they offered.

"Well, do you mind spice?" Aisa asked, trying to narrow down the possibilities.

"Doesn't bother me," I reply, scanning the menu again.

"Hmm..." Aisa ponders, taking his self appointed job as my "ramen advisor" far too seriously. "And I know you like vegetables and you probably wouldn't want a super strong broth and-" He keeps muttering to himself, most of which I admittedly drown out, until, "Got it! You'd like the spicy seaweed ramen!"

The old man glances towards me for confirmation. I shrug. "Sure, whatever the kid said," I agree.

"Coming right up," he said and turns back to him cooking.

5 minutes later a steaming bowl of noodles, soup and seaweed was set in front of me.

I eye the ramen with slight disgust as I picked them up with my chopsticks.

Eager eyes paused me in my reluctant movements.

Aisa was grinning ear to ear, staring at me. I take a slurp, keeping an indifferent face. "You should start eating your noodles," I tell him. "They start to become soggy in the hot broth after about five minutes."

"But you! Do you like it?" Aisa asked, eyes begging.

I shrug. "It's not bad. Much, much better than that sad excuse for a meal called instant cup ramen. Now _that_ is disgusting."

"But you like this ramen, right?"

I glance over Aisa towards Aiden, who was slurping the noodles in an effort to hide his smirk. "It's not bad," I concede. "Still little to no nutritional value."

"What, and your chocolate cake does?" Aisa shot back.

I pull back, affronted. "Aisa, as your sensei I'm proud of your quick thinking and argument. As Cashile, _do not insult my chocolate cake_."

"As your student, I would continue the argument," he responded. "But as Aisa, I'm going to shut up."

I allow a laugh to escape. "Good idea," I praise.

After we slurped up the rest of our ramen Aiden payed, using _my_ savings.

Well, it's not like I needed the money to open up a bakery or anything.

Where would a bakery facilitate in my move for power? Perhaps, a cover up...

Walking down the street, Aisa took my hand in one hand and Aiden's hand in the other. Rebuking him for affectionate physical contact was getting old, so I just rolled my eyes and kept walking.

Until I saw the silhouette in the shadows.

I snatched my hand back immediately and tensed up, ready to obliterate whatever was trying to harm me.

"Cashile?" Fear pierced through Aisa's voice. This would have been understandable a couple of years ago, but now he was a genin himself.

"Toughen up, Aisa. Aiden, take him back to the apartment. Lock the doors and make sure the windows are sealed. Don't open the door under any circumstances. Do you understand?"

Despite the worry that shadowed over Aiden's eyes he nodded frantically and grabbed Aisa.

Once they were gone so was I. To my stalker, I had faded into the air within the blink of the human eye.

After quickly analyzing the situation, I had pieced everything together.

It was _him._

I hopped down the side of the building I was perched on top of.

My stalker was quick to recognize my presence behind him.

I stepped in line of sight and smirked.

"Hey Ibiki," I greeted casually. "Long time no see."

Hope you guys are enjoying this fanfic! Please please please review if you're enjoying reading!


	11. Chapter Ten - Discussions and Decisions

"Cashile," Ibiki nodded, very calmly might I add.

"You were stalking me," I accused.

"And you thought I was about to attack you," Ibiki countered. "You didn't realize that it was me until you saw me. I would have expected you to sense my presence," he mused. "Or-" he continued, "you expected me to attack you although I doubt that's why you reacted in such a defensive manner,"

"Already criticizing me," I noted.

"You're still my student," Ibiki said, making it clear that he wouldn't accept my resignation even after all these years.

"I thought I was dead," I said, a playful coldness added to my tone.

Ibiki stopped bantering and a more serious expression crosses his face. Unreadable to the normal eye, but to my hawk eye, I could see every emotion he was currently feeling.

Regret, continual disbelief, anger, fear, sadness...

All the emotions were making me sick.

"Funny, I'm a teacher of my own now," I continued, in order to lighten the mood a degree.

"Shame, there's still so much you need to learn," Ibiki said. "Just so you know. I recommended that you were not promoted and did not become a sensei,

"Tell the hokage that," I muttered. "I didn't ask for the position, I assure you. And FYI, I could take you easy in a fight," I said, a brief memory of Ibiki beating the crap out of my a couple years ago, invading my mind.

"There's a bit of room for doubt in my mind about that," he said. "So what do you want to do about your training? Still want to be ANBU? Learn mind games?"

I shook my head," I don't know anymore Ibiki, I just don't know. I don't know what I want anymore. I have a team of my own now, that I'm being forced to teach, and I have a target on my back. I haven't decided what my main focus will be, yet," I said.

And I had Aiden and Aisa to think about. They would need to be protected when The Claw came after me.

Or maybe it was time to find my own place, so they wouldn't get caught up in the crossfire.

I turned on my heels and held my hand up, gesturing a farewell. "I'll see you around Ibiki," I said, ending our meeting.

"I have so much more to ask," Ibiki said in a wavering voice. Tch. Had he grown weaker since I'd last seen him? Since when did he let his emotions get the better of him?

"Soon. I can't stay out in one place too long," I said." Tomorrow at 4? I'll be waiting on the training grounds."

I took off into a run.

Maybe I should get away from Aiden and Aisa. The risk for them was minimal, though. The Claw would be assigned to kill me and only me. And when the Claw is given an assassination assignment, they kill the target and only the target.

If you don't cross the Rising Phoenix, you're safe.

But If Aiden knew about the target, then I doubt that he wouldn't cross the Phoenix.

And so, with that thought in mind, I continued to my apartment. I knocked on the door, and after a few moments Aiden let me in.

Self reminder: Get a copy of the key.

"What was that about?!" He demanded upon opening the door. I brushed past him, ignoring his outburst. "Answer me, Cashile! What was that?"

"I thought it might have been something, but it turned out I was wrong," I answered vaguely. If I told him the truth about people being after me, there was an 89 percent chance he would kick me out of the apartment to protect Aisa. It's not like I would allow him to kick me out of my apartment, but it was better to avoid confrontation.

"Oh, really? You think I'm honestly going to buy into that? How stupid do you think I am?" I opened my mouth to respond in a logical manner but he put a hand up, cutting me off. "Don't answer that."

"Cashhiiilllle, why did you tell us to run home?"

"Go to bed, Aisa!" Aiden and I snapped at the same time. Aisa raised a single eyebrow in a gesture that seemed oddly familiar to me before turning around and going to his bedroom- the storage space that Aiden had converted into a fairly homely bedroom.

Aiden let out an exhausted sigh before turning around and leaving me.

"That's it?" I asked, surprised.

"Well, if you're not going to tell me the truth, then what's the point?" He sighed, defeated.

My mouth opened and closed several times before I simply shrugged. Whatever, then. This was simpler for me.

"Do you know what it was like?" Aiden asked from the silence..

"What?" I questioned, for once not knowing where he was going with this topic of conversation.

"Do you know what it was like when you were gone?"

My shoulders drooped ever so slightly as irritation and annoyance filled me. Was he trying to guilt trip me?

"No," I responded snappishly. "Because I was gone, as in, not there. So I can't have known what it was like. Idiot."

Aiden turned his back to me, and I suddenly can't see what I've seen, but ignored; something terribly broken in his eyes- that made me pause and reconsider him.

He began to rant. "It's really hard to explain. Everything felt so... unrealistically realistic, at first. I know that doesn't make any sense. Everything was foggy and clear at the same time. Hot and cold. Kakashi's the one who told me."

"Yeah?" My throat felt oddly dry as I forced the word out. Aiden simply nodded.

"It was so strange. He just showed up and handed me this unbearable, unthinkable truth and I couldn't really wrap my head around it. I couldn't wrap my head around you no longer existing. I couldn't wrap my head around the thought of you being completely, irrevocably gone. You couldn't have just died, right? You couldn't be dead. You couldn't be gone. There's no way I would never see you again, never just be with you again. And now you're back. You're impossibly back. And my God am I happy. I can't believe it. I can't even wrap my head around this," he rambled.

"That's all very touching," I mumbled monotonously, trying to process his words. Words that I couldn't understand, couldn't comprehend.

If someone dies, they're just gone. They disappear. They're forgotten. It's the cycle of life.

So why did it mean so much to him? Why is he being so emotional? I was gone, yes. But now I'm back, that's the fact. It's illogical from his point of view, I could see that, but dwelling on the past created emotional turmoil which only blurred judgement.

"So can you understand why it hurts so badly to have you back, but not have you back at all?"

Somehow I knew exactly what he meant.

"We were never that close," I denied immediately, making an excuse that wasn't an excuse but a logical explanation to why he shouldn't take my situation so personally.

A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "That's what I told Kakashi when he came to talk to me two and a half years ago."

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Yeah," he confirmed.

I sighed. "I don't know what to tell you, Aiden. What do you want to hear? People change. Take it or leave it."

He studied me for a moment before nodding. "I'II take it," He assured me. "I just wish you would tell me the truth."

"I am," I replied. "I thought it might have been something, but it turned out I was wrong. I didn't lie."

"This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man," Aiden replied softly.

"You do see the irony of that quote, right?" I checked. "Polonius wasn't exactly... practicing what he preached."

Aiden gave a smile that didn't do anything to hide that same broken look in his eyes, "I do."

"3:59 pm." I said, looking at nothing but sensing the presence behind me.

"I don't like to be late," Ibiki replied.

I turned around. "Well, that makes two of us. I sent my team home five minutes early."

Aisa had finally stopped complaining when I made him walk home without me, and his teammates, blah in particular, had finally stopped giving him bullshit about being 'sensei's pet'.

"So what did you want to talk about?" I asked, inquisitively tilting my head.

"You," he stated bluntly. "What happened while you were gone. Your plans for the future," he finished his list of invasive topics.

"Okay...let's walk," I invited.

We got into step and silently strode across the freshly cut grass.

After a slight hesitation, Ibiki spoke. "So how did this organization work? How did they maneuver about and get things done?"

I raised an eyebrow. He definitely wanted to ask something else, but was holding back, Unlike the Ibiki I know.

"The Rising Phoenix, as they called themselves, was run mainly by the head, a woman named Mai YaoLin. She's the puppeteer in the entire scheme of things, and her claws, her minions, are her puppets at her command. She has loyal followers who've gathered together to start the organization. They kidnap their victims, brainwash, torture, and train them, until they are nothing but weapons for Mai YaoLin's disposal. They become the claws, one by one, the best replacing the old, and so forth. Their purpose as a group is to achieve and accomplish their own selfish desires, to make a name for themselves, and to establish themselves as powerful and elite. That's really all that there is to it," I finished my long explanation.

A peaceful silence followed, which I was grateful for. But the question that followed was exactly what I had been secretly dreading.

"I know we extracted the necessary information at your interrogations.." My mind flashes back to the painful memory, "but you never gave us more information than necessary. As your sense I I would like to know how they trained you. Objectively, of course,"

A touchy subject. Ibiki was knowingly treading deep waters.

"They just trained me. They put me up against others and forced me to fight for hours. They made me do hours of cardio every day and group exercises. Exactly what you would expect. When I wasn't training I was.." A painful memory flashed in my mind, freezing my words.

I shook my head. "Don't worry about it," I said, hoping to avoid further discussion.

No such luck.

"What were you doing when you weren't training, Cashile?" He pressed.

I kept my silence.

Frustrated, Ibiki snapped, "Why can't you just tell me these things? I'm your sensei! For gods sake Cashile, I trained you, I was in charge of your future! I have your best intentions in mind. But I need to know what happened! Tell me, help me understand, what gave them the power to brainwash you? To take away your feelings, your morals, your memories..."

I stayed silent. He had no idea..

"Objectivity my ass," I muttered.

"Cashile-"

I snapped. "You want to know so bad Ibiki? How they brainwashed me? Missing fingers, torn nails, hours spent in a fucking cage burning in the snow, hours of teaching my body that it didn't need heat or sleep or food to survive. You want to know more Ibiki? You want to know how they stripped me of every fucking thing I had? My pride, my dignity? How they treated me like an animal to teach me 'manners'? You want to know how many broken bones, torn muscles, shattered ribs it took for me to finally succumb to what I thought was better than the constant excruciating pain? Why I found it better to turn myself into nothing rather than endure that?" My voice broke towards the end. "I get it, I was weak, but I endured."

"It was survival by any means. I did what I had to do. Well, there you go," I whispered the last sentence, and walked away from a man who would never understand. Who had pried the one thing that had and would ever be able to break me.

"Home!" Aiden called.

I'd been sulking on the couch, re-reading the Tale of Two Cities. I'm positive I wasn't expressing clear negative emotions, but Aiden sat down near my legs and asked, "what's wrong?"

I looked up from my book. "Nothing," I replied shortly. "Aisa's resting in his room and dinner is leftover rice and broth."

"Tea?" He asked.

"Please,"

Aiden put a pot on the stove. "So how was your day?" He asked, resting his arms on the counter.

"Boring," I responded evenly.

"You're lying," he stated. "Or you wouldn't be sulking on the couch,"

My spine straightened and I lied smoothly. "Was not,"

"Whatever you say, Cashile," he handed me my cup, tea bag still settled at the bottom. "Jasmine, my favorite."

"Ibiki was prying into my past," I said after two sips.

Aiden raised his eyebrows, surprised that I'd said anything about it at all.

Of course I don't blame him, I had slightly surprised myself too.

But not to my surprise, Aiden didn't ask any further questions. Instead he grabbed the blanket resting across the top of the couch and spread it over me.

"Get some rest, Cashile," he said. I nodded, sipping my tea.

Aiden went in to check on Aisa, leaving me to my spinning thoughts.

It wouldn't take long to prepare a good Claw. Find someone with potential and put them through the training necessary. Then they would deal with the rest. And they got fast results when they actually tried.

The risk for Aiden and Aisa were minimal, but looking at my side from an objective point of view, being around them may be clouding my judgement. Therefore not only was I putting them at risk, but also myself.

And that's where I drew the line.

Survival above all; even if it meant giving up those two. Logically, I i didn't even understand why I've allowed them to live here in the first place. Why didn't I demand my savings back?

I guess I just pitied them. I benefited from chess games with Aiden, and it would be terribly awkward to kick Aisa out and continue to be his sensei. Not that I would care. I guess I simply benefited from this strange relationship more than it cost me. It was the only clear explanation that made sense to me.

Sudden anger flared in my chest, the burning passion a feeling practically unknown to me. I had had my life set out for me. The portrait I was painting had finally been coming together. And it had been taken away from me in a heartbeat.

That one thought settled into my head, taking root deep in my core.

And I knew one thing; Whether I was being logical or illogical.

The Rising Phoenix was going to pay. And I would be the one to bring them down.

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	12. Chapter Eleven-Moving: Out, On & Forward

"What are you doing?"

"Leaving," I stated.

Aiden looked as if I'd thrown him twenty yards across the room. Then he proceeded to grab my arm. "You can't."

"Watch me," I snatched my arm out of his grasp and zipped up the small bag that held my measly belongings.

"Cashile-"

"I have to leave. Don't hold your breath on my homecoming," I cut him off.

I had made up my mind. I wouldn't rest until the rising Phoenix had been... taken care of. And these two were holding me back.

"But Aisa-"

"Is your brother," I said. "Not mine. He's just another stupid little genin."

He grabbed at my wrist once more. "At least explain," he begged. I stared at him incredulously. He was acting as though this should affect him on a personal level. I was just someone letting him use my apartment. Nothing more. Nothing less. So why was he acting as though this was the end of an era?

I shrugged my shoulders in a nonchalant manner. "I have some business to take care of. It takes precedence over anything else," I informed, implying exactly where he stood in my list of importance.

His expression hardened slightly, a guarded look replacing the desperation from moments earlier. "Does this have to do with what happened the other day? When you told me and Aisa to take off?"

I never did say Aiden was stupid.

Okay maybe I did once or twice...

"Doesn't matter," I brushed off casually and reclaimed my wrist once more.

With a sigh of defeat Aiden massaged his temples. "At least tell me if you're coming back."

I hesitated in my thoughts. "Maybe. Depends," Not that he would want me to come back if he knew why I was leaving.

But that was none of his business. And I was done being weak. It was time for me to prepare to make moves, not just wait to defend against an attack.

And I didn't see the logical point of coming back, unless it was to reclaim my apartment once and for all.

He let out an exasperated breath. "It's never a straight answer with you, is it?"

"Sushi in the fridge. Eat it for dinner. There's some stew also, frozen. Heat it on the stove for 10 minutes, add milk if necessary," I informed, holding a neutral expression. "I can't take it with me, so you might as well have it."

"Cashile-" Aiden pleaded.

"I'll see you around, Aiden."

Outside the apartment complex I rested against a bench and took a deep breath of fresh air. I suddenly became tempted to claw furiously at my chest. There seemed to be a rock embedded there.

Slowly my breathing became heavier and heavier. Something was blocking my airways.

An allergic reaction?

Impossible.

The only health issues I've ever really had were inflicted upon me during training. And I haven't taken any hard hits in a while. I couldn't be c- no way. I immediately dismissed the thoughts from my mind and shut down the waver of emotions I had allowed myself to feel. I could physically feel my eyes deaden and my thoughts cleared.

"Cashile?"

My leg shot out immediately, aiming a precise kick towards the jaw of the intruder of my thoughts before I could stop myself. Thankfully Sakura had attained some skill while I had been away. She deflected my kick fairly easily.

"Sakura," I stated wearily, not bothering to apologize.

"Sorry for startling you!" She squealed, flushed from surprise.

"Apology unnecessary," I muttered, leaning once more against a bench, allowing a brief moment of exhaustion to overcome me.

"Are you alright?" She asked, clearly perplexed by my current appearance.

I stood up and straightened my spine to indicate that I was perfect. "Just fine,"

"Okay, well I've been called to the hokage's office. Apparently something significant has happened."

"Right," I said. She didn't move, staring at me. "Go on, then," I prodded, slightly annoyed when she looked me over once more, with worry clouding her expression.

"Okay..." She agreed hesitantly, "Stay safe, Cashile,"

"Will do," I said, showing a slight gesture of my most famous smirk, to show that I was perfectly myself.

Sakura continued hurriedly in the direction of her final destination.

My mind was cleared, back in to normal. I was at terms with what I needed to do in order to achieve the ultimate goal. In order to beat the Phoenix I would have to sacrifice a lot. I would have to sacrifice other people, sometimes. I would have to sacrifice allies and relationships and reputations.

Something I was willing to do.

And first order of business; renting a room.

There was only one other apartment complex in the area, and luckily I would be able to afford it with my meager earnings as a sensei. Perhaps I should apply for some solo missions. More money would be useful, and a couple of missions shouldn't take up too much of my brainpower.

When I reached the complex I searched for a room at the top level, in a corner of the building, and found one at decent price. Easily escapable, easily defensible... it would work. I dropped my backpack on the floor. Sure, it needed a little tidying up, but it came with furniture and appliances. I frowned at the tiny couch stuffed into the corner. I should have packed my couch into a scroll and brought it here. Ah, well. Too late for that.

I set up my chessboard and rummaged for a tea kettle and tea leaves. Glancing around once more, I shrugged. Well, that's that. I was unpacked.

Now then, for traps..

I knocked on the door. Last time I had barged in, and Tsunade had tried to punch me. I had blocked, but I swear my forearm nearly cracked from the force. I didn't want to risk waking her up again. "Come in!" Tsunade called.

"Tsunade, I would like to talk about solo-" I cut myself off, and narrowed my eyes slightly. So this was the presence I had felt in the room from the entrance of the building.

Now I had the attention of all 6 people inside the room. But I was observing one in particular.

Naruto's eyes widened dramatically, and he made a strange gasping noise. I tilted my head, intrigued.

I immediately started to make predictions.

Naruto would attempt to punch me once he figured out what's going on. And shout. A lot. He would create far too much of a ruckus. And overall he would have absolutely no clue about what was going on.

Yep, that sounds like Naruto.

He opened his mouth and I dully prepared myself for whatever stupidity would come pouring from his mouth.

"GHOST!" He shrieked.

Yep.

I allowed my head to hand for half a moment. He was so stupid. I decided to play with him and looked up, allowing a deadly feeling to leak into the air.

"That's right, Naruto," I whispered seriously, deadpan. "I am a ghost coming back to haunt you. It's your fault I died, Naruto. Yooouuurr... faaauuullltt." I stood rigidly still, looking straight into his eyes as I allowed a haunted look to paint my face.

"Ahhh!" Naruto shouted, running to hide behind sanin number two, Jiraya. "Sakura! Granny! Pervy Sage! Shikamaru! Don't let her kill me! Ahhh!"

I turned to give Sakura a "Can you believe him?" look, but her eyes were averted, looking depressed. Okay, so maybe the "your fault I died " hit a little too close to home for her. I filed the information away to use later.

"Dammit Naruto, shut up!" I finally ordered sharply when no one else stopped his obnoxious scene."I'm not a ghost!"

He paused. "You're not?" he asked suspiciously.

"No," I sighed.

"But you're dead!"

"No I'm not," I rolled my eyes. "But sorry to disappoint."

Naruto turned to Sakura. "Not a ghost?" He verified.

"Not a ghost."

"Not dead?"

"Not dead."

"And you didn't tell me?"

His mood switched from idiotic and lively to gravely serious in a heartbeat.

"Well I was a little busy beating you up for your pervy ninjutsu you little idiot!" She shouted. Anger flared in her eyes as she remembered.

Naruto turned back to me, a hostile aura surrounding him. I paused, finding myself wary of this serious side of Naruto. And a lot more powerful, I noticed. He stormed towards me and grabbed the front of my coat with one hand, something I allow him to do. If he felt as though he had the upper hand physically it may make him more comfortable and receptive to the idea of me being back.

"You bitch," he hissed, voice cracking a bit from emotion. "We mourned you! We buried an empty casket! And you had just faked your own death? And now you have the nerve to come back?"

"Naruto, you don't-" Shikamaru started to speak, but I interrupted him. I didn't need anyone to explain for me, and I certainly didn't feel obliged to immediately explain myself to Naruto.

Instead I placed my hand on the inside of his wrist. He barely noticed it, didn't realize that that small move shifted the balance of power in my favor. "Know the full story before you leap to conclusions," I warned.

"I don't need the full story because I know you," he snarled. "I know you would betray us in a heartbeat!"

"Maybe that's so," I agreed. Before I could continue my sentence, his fist hurled viciously towards my face. I easily deflected his punch with a slight movement to the back of his elbow so that it connected with the door behind me. Before he could even register that I had dodged his blow I clenched the wrist of the hand holding onto the front of my jacket and twisted. It broke his grip. I wrenched at his arm, keeping a hold of his wrist and bending it at an awkward angle. He was restrained in milliseconds. I leaned forward and whispered the ending of the sentence in his ear. "But I didn't."

Tsunade cleared her throat and I obediently released Naruto, shoving him away from me.

"As I was saying-" she spoke up.

"Wait, I'm supposed to fight _her_? _She's_ my opponent?" Naruto yelled incredulously.

Well, he was clearly out of control.

I let out a choked laughter. "No, definitely not. There wouldn't be much of a fight."

Naruto argued, "Still arrogant as usual, Cashile. I could take you down no problem."

He was receiving warning looks from the rest of the room, which he either expertly ignored or was completely oblivious to. I leaned towards the latter.

"Wait, did something happen to your face?" He suddenly asked, looking utterly dumbfounded, just noticing the large scar that marred my face.

I glared at him. "I would love to oblige to a take down, but I have more pressing matters to take care of right now. And besides, you're opponent is waiting outside the window," I informed casually.

I had noticed Kakashi's presence around the same time I had felt Naruto's.

None of the adults seemed surprised by my observation, but Naruto seemed to not believe me. He ran to the window and lifted it open.

"Kakashi-sensei!" He exclaimed.

I rolled my eyes. Seemed like I would have to wait to talk to Tsunade about my solo.

"Kakashi, Cashile's back!"

"So I've heard," Kakashi replied dryly.

"Was I the last to know?!"

"Er... Yeah, pretty much," Shikamaru nodded, rubbing at the back of his head.

"Back on task!" Tsunade ordered. Immediately the room fell silent. "Right, so Naruto, Sakura. Your opponent will be Kakashi..." She hesitated for a moment. Before she eyed me, clueing everyone else in, I spoke up. "Oh, no. No, no, no. I have priorities,"

Sakura gazed at me with a confused look clouding her expression. "Cashile, what are you saying?"

Shikamaru raised his eyebrow and shook his head slightly. Always catching on half a second after me. He was smart, maybe even could create better team strategies than me, but my observation skills were simply through the roof.

"What I say takes priority over anything else," Tsunade shot me down. "It's settled then. Kakashi, your opponents will be Naruto, Sakura and Cashile."

PLEASE review! Reviews make me happy XD


	13. Chapter Twelve - Assessment

"I shouldn't be here," I grumbled as I stood by Kakashi on the third training ground. "I have missions to complete, a team to train and-"

"An evil organization, that brainwashed you into forgetting the life you've known so they could use you as a mere tool, to destroy?" Kakashi interrupted.

"Precisely," I murmured, annoyed. "And their late! I have better things to do than to be here,"

"I thought patience was your speciality," Kakashi mused.

"So it mutilating strangers in exchange for information," I muttered.

Kakashi ignored what he heard. "It doesn't matter how late they are, I'm setting a time limit on your test. Dawn tomorrow, it will end. Let's see just how far you guys have progressed."

I snorted. "Right. One fled the village to avenge his clan. One was taken to be turned into a tool used only for pure destruction. One abandoned the village for two years to train, and it probably was a useless quest. And the last one trained under a psychotic maniac whilst dealing with a broken heart and a broken team. Great job you did with us," I replied sarcastically.

Kakashi sighed, "you always see the worst in everything, don't you?"

"Here! Kakashi sensei, is that you?" Naruto yelled, a vast distance of a whole 5 yards away.

I scowled at his loud, annoying voice.

"You're not late," Sakura stated, wide eyed.

"Nope," I said, popping the 'P', "but you guys are. Let's just get this thing over with,"

"Cashile! You weren't with us when we talked strategies!" Sakura exclaimed. Naruto narrowed his eyes, clearly untrusting of me.

I simply shrugged. "No need, just stay out of my way."

"Actually, Cashile," Sakura stepped up, eyes flashing. I reevaluate her. She was stronger, in mind, spirit, and body. "I think you'll be needing to stay out of our way."

I blinked. "Alright," I agreed easily. "Go at 'im. And don't forget to grab my bell as well."

Naruto glared at me- still didn't know the full story behind my disappearance- and turned his back on me. "Let's go, Sakura," he ordered.

Despite her aggressiveness, Sakura still threw me a worried glance over her shoulder. For herself and Naruto, no doubt. She, unlike him, knew what I was capable of.

"By dawn tomorrow," Kakashi announced, holding up the bells. "You three know the drill. You must have one of these three bells each by dawn tomorrow, or else you'll fail this test."

Then the most absurd thing happened.

Naruto charged straight towards Kakashi, not even waiting for his signaled "start".

I grimaced, and despite our differences Sakura and I both exchanged long-suffering looks.

"He hasn't change at all, has he?"

"I'm afraid not," she sighed in reply.

I sat down on the ground, cross-legged. "Have fun," I waved towards Kakashi invitingly. She narrowed her eyes at me, a gesture that I expertly ignore. As they began their fight I closed my eyes, trusting that I would be able to avoid getting caught in the middle of the fight if it happened to turn in my direction.

I took a deep breath and let it out, centering myself and my thoughts. Two years ago I would never have been able to do this-be alone with my thoughts. No distractions, nothing to hide me from myself, nothing to keep my mind from spiraling away.

But The Rising Phoenix had trained me well and ruthlessly.

I continued to take deep breaths, and allowed my mind to settle out.

I bring my main goals to the forefront of my mind:

The Rising Phoenix.

Dismantling the Rising Phoenix.

Taking the organization out piece by piece.

Exacting my complete and total revenge...

My thoughts were disrupted as the earth trembled and cracked apart. I jumped from my place on the ground to a nearby tree with an irritated sigh, as I escaped the chasm that had opened where I had been sitting moments earlier.

This is why I wanted to brainstorm and scheme in my own apartment. Not some fighting ground that I could win over in milliseconds.

Okay, against Kakashi, that may be a slight overstatement.

"Careful, Sakura!" I taunted purposely. "Control that monster strength of yours!"

Sakura growled and I couldn't help but laugh at how easily I could manipulate her. The monster comment was well placed, I thought approvingly.

Just try and succeed without me, I thought, turning my attention away from the worthless fight.

I sat on the tree branch and allowed my eyes to close again as I reviewed all I knew about the Rising Phoenix.

Their habits, their patterns, their chosen claws, likely predictions I could make based on their -

"RASENGAN!"

I threw myself backwards, avoiding the massive ball of chakra that Naruto had aimed at me.

Least to say, the branch was utterly destroyed.

"Watch where you're aiming that thing," I snapped.

"You're either a friend or a foe . Choose you're side, Cashile." Naruto responded in an unfriendly manner.

I leaned down in a catlike manner and rested my elbow on my knee, narrowing my eyes at this goofball.

"If that's how you want to play..." I warned.

"Naruto!" Sakura squealed, "how could you attack our own team ma-"

My body was gone with the wind. In the blink of an eye I had placed myself behind Naruto, holding a kunai to his throat. I pressed the tip in, cutting him slightly.

Just enough to draw blood.

"Cashile, please," Sakura pleaded.

"Why are you scared of this bitch, Sakura?" Naruto yelled bitterly across the field. He was frozen in place, aware that my kunai could split his throat in a quick second.

"You don't believe I'll do it, Naruto? You don't believe, for a moment, that I'll actually slit your throat, and let your blood pour from your neck. You don't doubt for a moment that I would care if I were to watch the life drain from your eyes? Do you sincerely believe, in that monster heart of yours, that I wouldn't do it?" I whispered coldly in his ear.  
There was no soul in my voice.

For dramatic affect I dug the kunai a little deeper into his neck.

My threatening words had produced results. Naruto's body was stiffened completely.

I too stiffened slightly for a moment. Then I leaned over and whispered in his ear.

"You don't fool me for even a second. How pathetic," I kicked him forward and turned around. Just in time to evade the kunai aimed at me by Naruto's shadow clone.

I pierced my blade into the pit of the shadow clone's stomach and watched as it puffed into a cloud of smoke and disappeared.

I smirked upward where I sensed Kakashi's presence. He didn't seem to mind watching my little show.

In fact, it may have even entertained him a little.

But I wanted to keep him on edge.

I was in front of Naruto again. I grabbed his wrist and threw him onto the ground. He broke his fall smartly and rebounded towards me in more cunning matter than usual.

Perhaps he has grown some, but it was factual that I had grown much more.

Naruto had been treated with popsicles, most likely. I was rewarded with silence which I was so grateful for, for achieving progress. I didn't get beaten, battered and thrown out into the cold cage, as all the trainees called it.

Two shadow clones appeared. I saw through his plan immediately. I saw the sequence of many events and possible patterns, outcomes. All of which I would win, of course.

But it wouldn't hurt to play a bit. Let Naruto think he had a chance against me.

Duly noted was Sakura at the edge of the open field, near the opening of the woods. Also noted was Kakashi's lingering presence.

One shadow clone charged at me. I defended against his lame attacks, not going so extreme as to destroy it. I was going to let Naruto show me his 'big move'. His big success. And then I was going to crush it, along with his spirit.

The massive ball of chakra was prepared. Naruto seemed to be analyzing the situation, apparently unaware that I was playing with him.

"Ahhh!" He charged at me.

His shadow clone was out of the equation immediately.

I could appear behind him, snap both of his arms and dislocate his shoulders. Or I could slide underneath the mass ball of chakra and fracture his left femur. Then I could further handicap him by pressing a pressure point inside his Achilles heel therefore paralyzing his other leg.

Too bad I had decided to play with him. This would have been an easy fight to win.

I decided my course of action. It would have its drawbacks, but I would prove a point, and test his power at the same time. This was a good opportunity for that.

I prepared myself for the drawbacks and tucked my kunai safely into my combat boot.

"Naruto!" Sakura screeched, thoroughly astounded, I presume, that Naruto shoved the mass ball of chakra into my abdominal region.

It took a moment to process before my thoughts were localized to one point.

Pain.

Within seconds I accepted the pain and pushed my thoughts to run through the course of the fight, just as I had been trained to do. I ignored the pain of multiple organ system failure, of muscle threads snapping and tearing in my stomach. This was _nothing_. I almost laughed. Of course it hurt, of course I was in pain.

Of course it meant nothing. Of course I could fight through it. I shall not flinch, I shall not feel, I shall not scream. I showed no signs of weakness. No signs of pain, not even the slightest grimace. Now that I'd let Naruto have his show, it was time to turn the tables.

To everyone else, I was mid air being thrown back by the force of the blow.

Then I was gone. I stood in front of Naruto, clutching his neck with my right hand. I kneed him in the stomach and brought my elbow down hard across his face.

I pressed down a pressure point along his spine and tossed him like a rag doll.

He struggled to move, only managing to bob his head slightly.

"Paralyzed from the neck down," I said. "Don't bother. It should wear off in a couple of minutes."

"Cashile, how did you do that?!" Sakura yelled, running towards me. "You should be injured! Your muscles, your chakra system!" Ah, yes. She had been working under Lady Tsunade for two years. She would know.

I ignored the pain in my abdominal region and forced my body to work without all of its necessary functions. I had done more with worse injuries. It was by no means pleasant, and by no means impossible.

I jumped into the trees before Sakura could reach me.

"You took the hit," Kakashi stated, observing my currently shredded abdominal region.

"Great," I said. "He burnt my clothes," My shirt was severely burned and barely holding in place. I was using a rather common defensive tactic: focus on something completely minor in favor of something major.

"How's your stomach?"

And Kakashi had seen right through.

"Fine," I lied. "You didn't intercept his hit though. I thought you might."

Kakashi shrugged. "You wouldn't let yourself get hit," he eyed my injury for a moment, a split second of confused concern flashing through his eyes. "Unless there was a specific purpose for it." I watched him for a long moment, re-calibrating. He had allowed me to be hit by a crippling blow- from a supposed teammate no less. I watched him as my calibrations shifted him a little closer towards The Rising Phoenix and away from the overly happy, hopeful Konoha. I nodded once, respect an wariness of Kakashi creeping in.

"He was annoying me. I made a point,"I mumbled, shifting my clothes slightly as I remain as normal as possible despite my new regard of him. I casually allowed my hand to drift closer to the bells. "The hit had a lot more... oomph to it than I expected," I admitted. "I didn't think he would have perfected it quite so well as of yet." Blood welled in my throat as a testament to that statement, but I swallowed it back down determinedly.

"He has grown," Kakashi acknowledged, then easily bat my hand away from the bells, springing off of the branch. "Nice try." I sighed. I didn't actually think it would work, but you never know.

"So Cashile?" Kakashi called back tauntingly, mimicking my earlier tone with Sakura. "Friend or foe? Choose your side," he echoed Naruto's words.

"Ah, you know me, Kakashi," I mocked. "I play both sides until I know who's going to win. That way it's always _me_ who ends up on top."

"Not this time, Cashile. This time you choose." Naruto growled, standing slowly.

I feel my stomach give an odd sensations, the pain merely bouncing off of the wall I'd placed in my mind. "Fine. I choose myself," I declared, turning away. Sure, I could continue fighting. Sure, I'd fought with worse injuries. Sure, the Rising Phoenix would never have allowed me to stop in the middle of a mission for a simple injury.

But Konoha wasn't the Rising Phoenix. It was far too kind for that. And so I turned and left, hiding my pain as I began the long trudge to the hospital.

It was about time I visited the nurse I was on a name to name basis with.

Please review!


	14. Chapter Thirteen - Empty

The moment that I'm out of sight I allowed myself to stumble slightly.

 _Shit_. Since when could Naruto do something as powerful as _that?_ I had known it would be strong, but so refined? I'd managed to make my point, and I still won easily enough (though now that Naruto was prepared for my power, the next fight would be slightly harder), but _still_.

It wasn't even the second day yet. Naruto and Sakura had plenty of time to get the bells still, without my interference, as they preferred.

Although, it was very unlike Naruto to turn on a teammate. He must really be angry with me.

Of course, I've never given him a reason _not_ to be angry with me.

I was still _much much_ more powerful than him, but It didn't hurt to consider my options. Having Naruto as an ally, now that he wasn't a complete and total idiot, wouldn't be such a bad thing. After all, he did contain the nine tailed demon fox. If he could attain that power..

Well. He'd be very powerful, to say the least.

I took another stumbling step, and allowed my hand to rest on a nearby wall of an abandoned house-must have been to far out from the town for the owner's liking-to support myself. "Ow," I allowed the complaint to slip from my lips with no one around to hear it.

Then my eyes widened. It was the only indication that I had sensed the presence. My body stayed relaxed and unguarded. My right hand remained swinging loosely at my side while my left stayed wrapped around my stomach. I narrowed my eyes, casually opening my hand slightly in preparation for the blade-not quite a kunai and not quite a sword, somewhere in between-to slide into my right hand. I had an identical blade in my left sleeve. I could duel wield the two steel blades fairly well, but I was primarily left handed and it showed.

Still. I was better than most with just my right hand. Maybe I could catch the Claw off-guard.

I shifted my stance slightly, pretending to feel discomfort from the pain in secret so that the Claw wouldn't suspect anything.

Just perfect timing. Right when I was injured. _Of course_ this was when the Claw would choose to attack.

 _Shouldn't have gone anywhere alone while so severely injured,_ I berated myself. _Not showing weakness to Naruto or Sakura or Kakashi doesn't matter if you end up dead over this!_

I sighed slightly. Who should make the first move? Me? The Claw?

I slid a little to the left, closer to a tree. Advantages, advantage, I needed to have every advantage in this fight. How? The Claw works alone. If I had another person with me as a distraction-they would have to be skilled enough to not get in my way- this would be a much easier fight. I shook my head.

Shit, shit. I didn't have the ANBU watching me- I was supposed to be with Kakashi until dawn tomorrow.

I took a deep breath in and let it out, feeling my stomach stretch in ways it wasn't supposed to and pain radiating from the center, out.

I reviewed my options in my mind. I would have to fight: the Claw wouldn't allow me to get away while I was in such a vulnerable state. So I needed to start this fight on _my_ terms. When I wanted to. Where I wanted to. How I wanted to.

I furrowed my eyebrows and looked around. Could several smoke bombs draw Kakashi's attention? I dismissed the idea almost immediately. Too many thick and healthy trees would block his sight, and it would cause the Claw to begin its attack.

Ah, _fuck_. This was _not good._

I took a deep breath and let it out. Okay. I leaned over, pretending to catch my breath but collecting a few small rocks instead.

Then in a flash of movement I acted.

I sent one of the rocks hurtling towards the Claw. It dodged neatly, the rock barely scraping its mask. It blurred slightly as it disappeared, and I raised my guard doubly.

This Claw was better than the others sent after me so far.

And so it began.

My blade slid into my right hand as I raised it straight above my head in a block , predicting where the Claw would appear. Our blades skittered off of one another with a shower of sparks and I smirked. "You forget," I taunted. "They taught me first. I know all your moves, all your tricks. I was the Claw once too." The mask gave nothing away, severely limiting my ability to read the Claw. I would have to make due with body language alone.

We both hid our blades once again in favor of our fists, and exchanged a few blows, testing each other out. The real fight wouldn't start until we had a feel for one another. I narrowed my eyes as the Claw went in for a debilitating blow, leaving itself open. A Claw would sacrifice anything, even its own well being, to complete a mission.

I managed to twist away from the strike, simultaneously slamming my fist into its mask. It cracked slightly, sending the Claw sliding back. My hand throbbed.

I wanted that mask _off_.

It hurt.

After several minutes I finally managed to land a kick that sent the mask hurtling off. I smirked at the small triumph, although it had cost me bruised ribs. The boy underneath the mask had white hair and empty, empty blue eyes. A long, thin scar marred one side of his face. The other half was painted in a myriad of blue and yellow, the bruise only just beginning to fade. He had burns and bruises and cuts and abrasions and he couldn't have been older than twelve years old.

"Tough shit, kid," I mumbled.

Then we sprung towards each other once again.

3rd P.O.V

"In other words..." Kakashi smiled at Sakura and Naruto, "We're peers now."

Sakura hesitated.

"Is something wrong, Sakura?" Kakashi asked.

"Well, it's just... what about Cashile?"

Kakashi gave a short sigh. "Team seven originally had five members due to... special circumstances. However, Team Kakashi won't be having Cashile returning to it. She has her own team now to worry about."

"Her own team?" Naruto asked in amazement.

"Yeah," Sakura nodded. "You remember those kids we saw running around Konoha?" Naruto nods. "That's her team. And that workout was her version of 'a day off'."

Naruto blanched. _Geez, I would hate to be the genin on her team. She's heartless!_

They began to walk back to Konoha, Naruto chatting animatedly. Then he suddenly froze and stiffened. Sakura and Kakashi paused as well. "What is it, Naruto?" Sakura asked. Naruto was about ten yards ahead, and had clearly seen something they hadn't.

"Two bodies by the side of the path," he mumbled back, "It looks- hey! One of them is Cashile!"

Kakashi looked around warily. "You said there were _two_ bodies, right?" Kakashi checked with Naruto as he began to creep forward. Naruto nodded. "Stay on guard and back me up, Sakura," he ordered. "Be ready if we need medical assistance. Naruto, with me."

They crept forward slowly. Kakashi approached the unknown body first. The boy was laying face down on the ground. Kakashi checked for a pulse, shaking his head when there was none. With a slight grunt Kakashi rolled the boy, who Kakashi now recognized as a Claw, over.

"Cashile killed a little kid!" Naruto gasped. He clearly couldn't believe it. Despite having called her heartless, monster, bitch, he had never expected something like _this_ from her. "He looks like he could barely be out of the academy!"

"Shut up, Naruto," Kakashi ordered, leaving the assassin and turning towards Cashile.

"Kakashi-sensei, how could you _protect_ Cashile?" Naruto demanded. "Look at what she's _done_ -"

"Quiet, Naruto!" Kakashi replied, searching for a pulse on Cashile's neck. Naruto recoiled slightly, looking shocked. "Sakura, come here," he beckoned. "The danger seems to have passed. I've never seen them work in groups or pairs before."

"Them? Who's them?" Naruto asked. Everyone ignored him.

"There's a pulse," Kakashi informed Sakura. "But this was a hard fought battle. It seems like she barely won."

Sakura was carefully checking her injuries, already beginning first response medical ninjutsu. "I don't believe her life is in any immediate danger," Sakura murmured. "The only issue may be how long she's been lying here, injured. But by far the worst injury I can make out is her stomach. The injury seems to be consistent with the damage caused by a rasengan."

Naruto paled. "But she didn't even seem to be hurt by it! She wasn't in pain at all!" He protested. "What's even going on here?!" He yelled, frustrated byhis ignorance.

Kakashi sighed. "Perhaps it's time we filled you in, Naruto," Kakashi nodded to Sakura. "Fill him in, I'm going to run Cashile to the hospital and alert ANBU to take care of the boy,"

"Yes, Kakashi-Sensei," Sakura replies courteously.

"You two can drop the 'sensei', we're peers now. Not student and teacher," Kakashi replied with a sigh.

Then he gathered Cashile in his arms and took off for Konoha hospital.

Reviews are appreciated :)


	15. Chapter Fourteen - The Sky is Falling

Hello to you readers! I've been updating as often as possible, but updates might slow down for a bit (a friend of mine and I are working on writing an original novel right now, so that takes up a lot of our focus.) please, PLEASE take the time to review! Reviews lead to inspiration for this fanfic which will lead to writing which will lead to quick updates! So please take the time to post a review :)

On to the story!

Chapter Fourteen - The Sky is Falling

"What the _hell?_ You were supposed to be watching her, Kakashi!" An angry voice hissed.

"What can I say? I didn't expect her to take a rasengan to _prove a point._ Ibiki, this is _Cashile_ we're talking about. She would never put herself in harms way unless she was getting some great benefit out of it. Like the spiders!" That was Kakashi's voice, both worried and defensive.

"You idiot, you still should never have let her walk off the training grounds Injured! Baka." Angry, angry. And condescending. How irritating.

I groaned out loud. Ibiki was here? He was so annoying. Always angry.

I opened my eyes and assessed myself quickly before letting them know that I was awake. Deep cut on my forearm, about four inches long. A bandage was wrapped around it, but blood was clearly seeping through still. Apparently they hadn't gotten around to healing it. I could feel the bruises scattered all over my body beneath the hospital gown. And my stomach...

It was wrapped in bandages, and while I suspected that it had been healed, it was by no means completely fixed. I suspected that they would want me to return for another check up and healing session. Thank God Sakura was a proficient medic nin now; between her and Aiko-the nurse I was on a fist name basis with- I would be able to avoid any official appointments.

"Let it go, Ibiki. I walked away, not Kakashi's fault," I spoke up, ignoring the burning pain in my abdomen and resisting a couple wheezes. The extra oxygen wasn't worth showing weakness over. Normally I would have held this against Kakashi, but I knew that he knew better than to feel guilty over this and give me ammo against him. Besides... he had allowed me to take that hit. He hadn't protected me from Naruto's rasengan. Maybe he was a little more Claw-like than I'd ever given him credit for.

Their heads snapped in my direction. "Don't get ahead of yourself, brat, I'm here on official business. Tell me what exactly happened," Ibiki snapped in a most formal manner. Obviously he didn't want me to get any wrong ideas. He wasn't here because he cared. He was here because he had to be. I rolled my eyes. He was an idiot if he thought I would be bothered by that.

Kakashi sighed but didn't defend me against Ibiki's immediate prodding.

I shrugged. Well, as much as I could lying horizontally in a hospital bed.

"I was attacked by another Claw. It was well trained, more so than the others. I handled it fine though, it's dead," I replied, ignoring the flash in my head of the boys face. Of his empty eyes.

Kakashi cleared his throat. "About that, Cashile..."

My eyes flashed to him. "What is it?"

"The boy you killed... He started breathing again. He's been hospitalized but restrained thoroughly, so no need to worry."

I blinked. "Alive?" I murmured. "I definitely stabbed him in the upper right chest. That's when he collapsed. The wound should have killed him."

"Like I said, he wasn't breathing-"

Ah. "He put himself in a death-like state to survive," I realized. "Slow down his heartbeat, minimize damage, better chance of escape. Smart. But once I was down his injuries must have caused his plan to backfire, landing him here. He couldn't escape and didn't realize that we would collect his body. Now, you said he was restrained?"

Ibiki nodded. "We've already attempted to probe his mind, but... It's nothing like I've ever seen. He has a.. A shield. This impassive, impregnable slippery grey wall that we just can't get by."

"He would have that," I said.

"We're hoping that the shield might shatter under duress. But he needs to wake up for that to happen."

I looked at him. Not quite alarmed, but not at peace either. "You provided a Claw _healthcare_. Once it's awake it won't think twice about killing you, and it's sole purpose will be to kill me. And we don't have much time before _they_ think he's dead, and send another one.

There was a timid knock on the door. Then there was a loud, obnoxious knock. Shuffling footsteps and angsty whining voices could be heard behind the door.

Kakashi chuckled. "Looks like you have visitors, Cashile."

I made a face and looked at Ibiki, pleadingly. "Isn't this a classified interrogation?"

Ibiki smirked. "Yes, but it's over. I'll be in touch. I'm going to head back down to the boy's room and see if he'll wake up any time soon," he nodded at Kakashi and opened the door. Heartless bastards, leaving me to the mercy of the little snot nosed brats.

Three twelve year old bodies toppled in, stumbling over each other.

Ibiki grunted, then left. Kakashi scratched the back of his head. "I'll check in on you later Cashile," he promised. Then he walked out, leaving me with my three students who were looking sheepishly up at me, waiting patiently for me to speak.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Sensei has a black eye," Michiko giggled slightly.

I scowled and touched my eyes. " I do n-" I did. I was so used to having black eyes during training that, seeing the other claw's face during the fight must have brought me back to how I used to feel when I was Claw in training.

Numb.

I pushed whatever fear I may have felt down and my attention turned to the tugging at my hand.

Aisa.

He had been giving me the cold shoulder since I left the apartment. Aiden was probably-

Oh god. Aiden. If Aisa knew then Aiden would know, no doubt. Just what I needed. Ugh. Great. Just fantastic- more complications.

"What did they tell you?" I asked my students flatly.

"That an assassin came after you!" Aisa exclaimed.

"Sensei is important enough to have assassins sent after her," Michiko murmured. She had grown much more comfortable with me over the weeks- less shy, less hesitant, less embarrassed- and far more cheeky in her subtle, dry manner. I was tempted to either tell her to shut up or respond in an equally snarky manner, but instead opted to ignore her.

"Why didn't you guys do your training today?" I asked.

Aisa and Kento shared a look. "What are you talking about?" Kento asked, deadpan. "We did the same routine you assigned us yesterday for our 'day off'."

I rolled my eyes. "Don't even _try_ to lie to me. You may be able to trick your old sensei or your classmates, but you can't fool me. You're really not _that_ good of a liar. Aisa opened his mouth but I cut him off. "Don't even _try_ ," I ordered. "You're an even worse liar than Kento."

They pout while Michiko sighed. "I told them not to, sensei," she told me earnestly.

"Of course," I said. "You didn't lie to me, but you certainly didn't tell me the truth. If they had managed to trick me you would have just gone along with it. But you didn't participate in lying to me. You're perfectly innocent."

She shrugged. "What can I say?"

"Go and do the same routine as yesterday," I ordered. They grumbled. " _Twice_."

"But _Cashile,_ it's gonna _rain_ -"

"Now."

Almost as soon as they trudged out the door slammed open again. My eyes widened slightly as he rushed in, both anger and fear in his eyes.

 _"Cashile!"_

I blinked in surprise. "Naruto," I greeted.

He had a weird sort of half glare, half worried look on his face. "C-Cashile."

"Oh. You know."

He nodded. "I... I'm sorry...?" he offered weakly.

"Okay," I replied easily. This would be useful for any time I wanted to manipulate him in the future.

"Uh... okay? Okay," he seemed both eager to get past this awkward conversation and suspicious of how easily I had brushed the apology away. "Um, they say that your stomach is mostly healed and that you can leave. Er, Kakashi wouldn't let you have any pain medication for some reason, but-"

"It's okay," I replied. "I don't need any. I can go?"

Naruto nodded. "Uh, they said to come in in a week for a check up? But you can just go to Sakura for that."

"Alright," I agreed. "Bye." I got out of the hospital bed.

He watched me leave, shocked. "...bye?"

I exited the hospital, regarding the swollen clouds. It would rain soon. Almost as soon as I stepped outside of the hospital doors I ran into Aiden, who had been heading in. For a long moment we stared at each other, shocked, unprepared. Then I turned on my heel and left.

"Oh, no Cashile," Aiden stormed after me, suddenly pissed as he snatched at my shoulder. "You're not getting away."

I wrenched away from his hold on my shoulder and disappear.

I stopped running when I reached the top of the hill. I was breathing harshly, emotions running through my body. I breathed in and out, and I was empty. I could _feel_ the emotions drain from me, I could _feel_ the emptiness, the _numbness_ take over.

Emotions didn't help. Caring wasn't an advantage. It _wasn't._

I turned as I heard a slight shift, and Aiden was there. I blinked. "How did you find me?" I asked. "It barely took you five minutes." Was there a way to track me that I wasn't aware of? Had I grown sloppy, left a trail?

"I guessed you would come here. You're not as unreadable, as unpredictable as you'd like to think," he replied quietly.

I winced and touched my stomach as the pain caught up to me. "Well?" I questioned. "What do you want?"

"What the _fuck_ ," Aiden whispered quietly. "What the actual _fuck_?!

I stared at him uncomprehendingly. "Why are you upset?" I questioned.

"You really never think about anyone but yourself, do you?" He asked in contemptuous amazement.

"What do you mean?"

"You never though about me? About Aisa? About the danger you were putting us in by being near us? You didn't care to tell me that people were after you?!" Aiden interrogated, rapid fire.

I didn't know how to respond. "Aisa's my student. It doesn't matter if I live with you or not. I'm close to him in that way as well."

"Then you shouldn't have been his sensei!"

"I didn't exactly have a choice. The Hokage herself ordered me to become a sensei."

"Oh, like that's stopped you before," he rolled his eyes angrily, words sharp and pointed.

"You're being irrational," I appealed . "Calm down and think this through. Be logical."

Something about that made Aiden snap inside. "Oh, be _logical_ ," he fumed. "Well here's my logic: You shouldn't have ever come back here!"

We each pause at that, recoiling from one another like magnets with the same charge. My heart contracted painfully. Aiden was breathing heavily.

"I'm sorry," he finally breathed out, deflating.

"No, it's perfectly understandable," I answered quietly. "I can leave, if that's what you want."

"No, no, no," Aiden shook his head. "I'm sorry, I was upset and scared and I said things I didn't mean to."

"Like I said, it's understandable. But often during times like this you say what you truly mean but what you're normally too scared to say, and-"

"Shut up," Aiden ordered, cutting me off. "Please, just... can't we just slow down for a moment? Can't we just stop and... lay here? Can't we just lay here and forget the rest of the world?"

I furrowed my eyebrows at his change in attitude but nodded, sitting down with Aiden on the grassy hill. The leaves of the tall tree whispered in the wind behind us. I sat with Aidan under our tree, suddenly feeling so removed from the world and our lives that I never wanted to go back. The tension that had been filling the air fell away, thudding to the ground and disappearing. Here was where both our guards went down, where we both became something perpetually _human_.

"Look," Aidan smiled up at the sky, a soft smile that lit up his face. "The sky is falling."

I glanced up, and sure enough the sky had shattered. "It's just rain," I muttered, but there was the smallest upturn of my lips as my head fell back and I stared at the sky.

"The sky is falling," Aidan murmurs again. "Let's watch the sky together."

We both lie on our backs, ignoring the grass that slowly soaked and blinking away pieces of the sky that fell into our eyes as we simply lay together, watching the roiling clouds and plunging rain.

Aidan turned on his side, dark eyes studying me closely. I tear my gaze away from the collapsing sky and allowed my glance to meet his stare. Without much thought, without any buildup or anticipation or worry or stress or angst, Aidan leaned in and kissed me once, twice, gently, unhurriedly.

"The sky is falling," I repeated softly, staring into his eyes.

"Or we're flying," Aidan countered, the slightest smile on his face.

The rain fell on our head and the sky was fractured and we were just two small humans who'd given up on trying to hold it together.

And we were flying.

I hope you guys review! The Cashden ship has sailed! Review!


	16. Chapter Fifteen - A C-rank Mission

"What's wrong?" Aiden asked as he noticed me stiffen, peace on the top of the hill disturbed.

I tugged myself away from him and stood, dusting my coat. "Kakashi," I greeted.

"What? Cashile, are you okay?" Aiden asked, propped up on his forearms and clearly perplexed about why I was speaking Kakashi's name. Kakashi hadn't yet appeared over the top of the hill.

I sighed, not feeling the need to explain myself. Kakashi explained for me, taking that moment to step into view. "Cashile," he replied.

"Is it time already?" I asked, picking at my nails in a bored manner. I knew this interrogation would go absolutely no where.

Kakashi nodded. "The boy is awake,"

"It" I corrected. I was promptly ignored.

"Come on, Cashile. Lets go."

…

So far, the boy refused to break. But now he was talking, so that was something new.

"You were the one we all tried to emulate," the boy said, no emotion in his voice and no soul in his eyes, staring at nothing in particular but clearly addressing me. "You were the one we wanted to be. Do you know what we called you? The others, the ones who weren't the Claw? The ones who were just kept in _storage_ until it was their turn? Do you know what we called you?"

I stared at him, no interest in my eyes. Being near someone from The Rising Phoenix always did this to me, always made me more Claw-like, more-

"Mujōna," the boy whispered. "Soulless."

"What's in a name?" I replied flippantly.

Ibiki shot me a concerned look, studying me closely. He didn't know everything, I reminded myself. He didn't know everything I did, everything that was done to me.

"I'm telling you Ibiki, you aren't going to get anything from it," I restated.

"We have to try," Ibiki replied. "On my watch," he motioned to his team. "I'm going in again,"

"Good luck with that, then. My presence here is useless."

Ibiki ignored me, and I took that as my cue to leave. Damn. Well I wasted a perfectly good afternoon.

As I walked out of the hospital room, I tensed and shifted to my side, in a stance prepared to defend and attack.

I eased my stance slightly when the ANBU appeared in front of me. "You've been summoned by the hokage." He intoned, promptly disappearing once his message was delivered. Why were all ANBU such a talkative bunch?

"Aye aye," I muttered to the empty space in front of me.

I jumped from the window, noting the flickers of movement that were my ANBU entourage as I flew through the air. Two more had been added to my little protective team since the attack. With a sigh I enter the Hokage building, strolling up the stairs as though I had all the time in the world and was definitely _not_ curious about what mission Team Ten would be given.

I knocked on the door as I opened it, ignoring Tsunade's glare of irritation.

"So?" I questioned. "A mission I presume?"

She raised her right eyebrow in a questioning manner. "And if I were to say no?"

"By your hypothetical question, body language and tone of voice I already know it is, so you can get to the point," I pointed out.

She sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Team ten's first C-rank mission. An interception. Do you think that they're ready?"

"Yes," I replied without hesitation. "Their skills have improved significantly and the experience wouldn't do them harm. And if anything goes wrong on the mission I'll always be there to do _my_ job," I said.

I could protect the three genin with less than a quarter of my true skills. Well, for a C-rank mission, at least.

"Alright, report to my office with your team in two hours. Dismissed!" She concluded sharply.

"Yes ma'am," I muttered mockingly, and disappeared before Tsunade could retaliate. I really should be more wary of her strength. Well, noted. She would only let me get away with so much.

Now I had to go genin hunting. They should be doing their workout right now. Perhaps I'll even catch them in the act of not doing what I had sentenced them to do. I started running the course around Konoha. Within a couple of minutes I spotted them.

Three knuckleheads, goofing around in a woods area of the trail.

I appeared between Aida and Kaden in the blink of an eye and smacked both of them on top of their foreheads.

"Bakas!" I exclaimed. I gifted a purposefully accusing look to Michiko, the only one who wasn't nursing a tender forehead.

"Well?" I asked, placing my hand on my hip, expecting some crazy made up excuse to get them out of a rough situation. Michiko seemed to realize this was her chance to get out of being smacked as well.

"Sensei, you caught us. We're not doing our workout." Michiko stated for the three of them , owning up to their actions.

"Wow. That was... Brutally honest. Have I not taught you anything?"

Had these kids not learned an ounce of deceit from me? It had been weeks. They should be able to lie on the spot, crap excuse or not. I smack Michiko on the head, rolling my eyes at her poor attempt to dodge.

Their mouths dropped open as the meaning behind my words finally makes its way through their thick brains.

"You're our sensei. Won't we get in trouble if we lie to you?!" Kento asked, astounded.

"Well... Yeah," I said. "If you do it poorly. But if you pull it off... well, I'll be none the wiser, yeah? By the way, I came to collect you three to reward you for all your hard work, but now I'm not so sure you guys deserve to go on a C-rank mission..."

They looked at me, a mixture of newfound guilt and regret painting their faces as they chorused their apologies and reasonings. Ha, they had been sent on so many crappy d-rank missions where I had sat back and allowed them to do the dirty work. And now they thought they had blown their one chance at a "real" mission.

"We were just taking a break! We were doing the workout, promise!" Michiko tried to convince, unconvincingly.

"Oh man!" Kento exclaimed, bummed.

"C'mon Cashile-sensei! That's unfair!" Aisa whined.

"Life's unfair," I snapped back, waiting for them to do something to "convince" me.

"What if we finish the workout before we leave for the mission?" Kento to reasoned.

I stared at him, slightly dumbfounded. "That's the most sensible thing I've heard you suggest in weeks, redhead." Kento scowled at me. "That sounds like a plan."

Of course I wasn't going to tell them that I couldn't simply cancel missions that Tsunade assigned us... though I would love to see their faces when they realized I'd been bluffing.

Of course I could _discourage_ the assignment of a c-rank mission, mention that team 12 wasn't ready for it or something, but then what fun would that be?

I swayed back and forth on a tree branch, idly reading through the bingo book and hoping to see some information on our Claw from... well, from before he was a Claw. That is, _if_ their was a before for him. Three genin panted below me as they went through my (rather brutal, I'll admit) assigned set of push-ups, sit-ups, sprints and and series of stress positions that still managed to make me sweat when held long enough.

Occasionally I would call down a critique about positioning or form, much to the genin's chagrin. But they would make the adjustment, either sighing in relief as the change would alleviate the pain or grumbling in pain as the exercise became more difficult.

Michiko let out a sudden whine of pain and collapsed. Kento and Aisa grit their teeth, muscles straining and shaking, faces red and sweat dripping from their bodies as they struggled to maintain the stress position I had ordered.

"This is too hard for us!" Michiko gasped, rubbing trembling muscles as she tried to regain strength.

I view her boredly, then close my book and fall to the ground. I slowly walk over to her, hiding my smirk as I see the trepidation that wasn't quite hidden in her eyes. Finally I was standing just in front of her, forcing Michiko to crane her neck to look up at me. "Excuse me?" I ask softly.

She hesitates, then shakes her head, narrowing her eyes in determination. "We can't do this! It's far too difficult!"

"You can do this," I reply, and she looks shocked by the encouragement, but I was simply stating a fact. "I curtailed every exercise for each of you and your limits. It's all in your head, you idiot. If you applied yourself, you could do these exercises. They would push you to your limit just as they're designed to, but you can finish them. And you will. _Now_."

I notice that both Kento and Aisa have stopped, instead opting to watch us with clear interest and just a little fear. Michiko glances over to them and sets her jaw, shaking her head at me and glaring. "No!" she declares. "We won't do the stress positions anymore!"

I raise a single eyebrow, clearly challenging her. She drops her gaze but otherwise refuses to back down. "Why, pray tell, do you refuse to complete the exercise regimen?"

"Because it's a form of _torture!_ " she burst out.

"What?" I ask. That was the last thing I had expected her to say.

"We learned about it at the academy! Forcing people to hold positions like these is a form of torture! _You've been torturing us!_ "Michiko shouts.

I blink, staring. She takes several deep breaths, waiting for my reaction.

I think the last thing she expected me to do is laugh.

But laugh I do, a real, hard laugh that I find myself unable to control. Every time I see her face I burst out laughing again.

"It's not funny!" Kento finally butted in, throwing his support behind Michiko. "We're just kids and you've literally been torturing us!"

"Torture," I chortle. "Torture! This isn't _torture!_ "

"Um..." Aisa speaks up hesitantly. "Isn't it, though? Technically speaking?"

" _This_ is torture," I snap, suddenly irritated that all three were being complete _idiots_ , throwing my coat open and hiking up my shirt. I knew that there were a litany of scars scattered across my skin, but what drew their attention was the bottom quarter of a brand on the left side of my back.

I drag my shirt back down and glare at them. "And its what will happen to _you_ if you don't do my exercises and grow strong! These "tortuous" stress positions are hell, I know! But you know what? I've carefully chosen each one for the muscle group it targets and those muscles will be stronger than any other genin's! The muscles needed for explosive movement, for putting as much weight behind a kick or a punch as possible! Those are the muscles we're strengthening! Those are the muscles that will save your life one day! But only if you _do as I say_!"

The three genin are staring at me with wide eyes. No one makes a sound.

The Michiko moves.

I turn my gaze to her and she flinches heavily under it as she returns to the position she had originally fallen from. I nod approvingly, knowing that I had put the genin in their place once again.

Even if in the process I had revealed more than I'd meant to.

…

Despite the scare I had purposefully caused them, Team Ten was still more than eager to go on the C-ranked mission.

"Before you give the mission details," I start, hiding a wince as Tsunade glares at me for cutting her off. "I feel the need to remind you that I was released from the hospital just over three hours ago. My injuries are mostly healed, but some will still limit my mobility."

Tsunade snaps. "Like the injury caused by the rasengan that you _purposefully allowed Naruto to hit you with?_ "

"Erm," I allow a smidgen of discomfort to show in the hopes that her angry tirade would be lessened. "Yes?" I don't even bother feeding her a sob story about how I had tried to dodge but Naruto was just _faster_ than I'd expected. She wouldn't believe it for a second.

Tsunade sighs. "I'm sorely tempted to force you to deal with the consequences of your actions, but you are correct. It could put the completion of the mission at risk, despite it only being a c-ranked mission. Go and see Sakura before you go. She'll make sure that you're all set."

I nod. "And my... _overprotective friends_?"

Michiko shifts closer to Kento. "Sensei has friends?" she muttered from the corner of her mouth. I expertly ignore her remark and Kento's snort. They would pay for that in training later.

"They will not interfere with the mission," she replied easily. I nodded, understanding that unless something went horribly wrong or I was attacked by a Claw the ANBU wouldn't show their face.

"Alright then," I nodded. "Kento, Michiko, Aisa! Listen up! You better remember this mission and all details that Tsunade tells you now, because I won't be helping you out if you forget. So pay attention!"

With that, Tsunade began.

…..

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Insomniac_Lullabies


	17. Chapter Sixteen - Persona

"This is so exciting!"

Aisa was acting like an overexcited toddler in a toy store. I let out a long suffering sigh but said nothing. It _was_ their first "real" mission, after all.

"Aisa, we haven't even _left_ yet," Kento muttered, trying to pull off a "I'm so cool I've done this a thousand times and I'm too bothered to get excited about it" persona.

It was failing miserably, I noted, seeing as he was practically vibratingon the spot.

"Cmon," Aisa wheedled. "You have to be a _little_ excited!"

"We _are_ helping out the Land of Air," Michiko pointed out. "Recovering their 'ancient historical artifact' has been entrusted to _us_. That's pretty exciting."

"If it's been entrusted to _us_ ," Kento retorted. "Then obviously it's not all that important. And the men can't be all too skilled."

I clicked my tongue disapprovingly. "Always plan for the worst," I chided.

They nodded distractedly, clearly having already dismissed my words. I rolled my eyes as I stepped out of the gate, setting off on a slow enough run that the genin could keep up fairly easily.

No troubles occurred during the travel, and soon we were camped out in the middle of the woods. It was only the genin's complaints that reminded me that they would be unable to run through the night.

And then I had nearly sat on a tree branch and leaned against the trunk to sleep, before remembering the rolled sleeping bags that we had packed.

Right. Because _normal_ people didn't sleep on rocky terrain without cushioning. Right. Right.

"Before you sleep, go over the mission objectives again," I ordered the three genin.

"The thieves stole an artifact from Sunagakure," Michiko began. "Um, it was... A..."

"Teapot," Kento cut in boredly. "They've crossed the border into our land and are currently hiding inside of a village that is just past border. We've had trouble with this particular village before; this is because the village doesn't care who trespasses with ill intentions so long as they have money. Village sounds like scum," he muttered towards the end of his mini lecture.

"Our objective," Aisa jumped in, "Is to infiltrate the village and steal the teapot back without being caught. Avoid detection at all costs!"

I nodded. "And if you're caught..." I trailed off, making sure that I had their attention before I continued on to the graver side of this conversation. "Kill them before the alarm can be raised, and do your best to quickly hide the body. Or we'll have to fight our way out of there, tooth and nail. You hear me?"

Aisa is the only one of the genin to nod, easily agreeing with me. I realized in a split second that despite Aiden's vigilant protection and constant sacrifice, Aisa was simply less _innocent_ and _naive_ than the other genin.

I turned and glared at Michiko and Kento. "I mean it," I growled. "If you hesitate and die, I'll bring you back to life and have you running around konoha until you die again! And if you compromise the mission... I'll have you hold those precious stress positions until it really _is_ torture."

They're eyes widened in fear and they nodded desperately, and I can't help but wonder if I went about that completely wrong.

I never should have been made a sensei.

…

"Careful when you enter the village," I ordered. "They don't know you, and someone may try to take advantage. I'll be nearby if anything _really_ gets out of hand. But I'm not going in with you. Four's a crowd."

"Have you ever been here before, sensei?" Michiko asked curiously.

I internally cursed. Damn Tsunade for giving me the smart ones... though I wouldn't have been able to stand the stupid ones. "No," I lied expertly. "But this isn't exactly the best village, and I'm not exactly unknown. I don't want to compromise the mission just because some scum recognizes me."

Michiko nodded , obviously accepting the lie. "Alright."

"Why do we have to stay in this shithole for _two_ days? Why can't we complete the mission on the first night?" Kento complained.

I opened my mouth to insult him, but Aisa beat me to it. "Don't be stupid," he replied snarkily. "If we try to infiltrate the moment we arrive we'll be caught. If we let the novelty of new people arriving wear off then we'll have a better chance of pulling this off."

Aisa was _smart_ , I suddenly realized all over again. _Just like Aiden._ Maybe Kento was smarter in the academy, maybe Michiko could strategize as a team better, but Aisa was street smart. He knew how to _survive_. He would have to be the leader in this infiltration. He knew how to survive in an environment like this one.

He'd done it before, after all.

"Both of you," I snapped at Michiko and Kento. "Follow Aisa's lead out there. If he says to do something, _do it_. Understand?" Michiko nodded, but Kento's face twisted into a slight sneer. I turned towards him. "Do you understand?" I asked dangerously, daring him to voice his complaints.

Like an idiot, he does.

"I get that Aisa's your favorite sensei's-pet, but shouldn't the mission take precedent _over_ your favoritism?" Kento complained, clearly put off at not having been chosen as the lead.

Aisa opened his mouth to angrily retort, but I held up a hand. No matter what he said, this would clearly always be a sore spot for Kento and Aisa.

"Are you questioning my judgement?" I questioned.

"I'm questioning your _clear favoritism_ of Aisa!"

"Use common sense and logic. Do you really believe that I'd jeopardize a mission with _petty_ _favoritism_?" I laughed derisively. "No, redhead. You would be _eaten alive_ out there," I mocked. "A mommy's boy who's had everything handed to him and never been in _real_ trouble his entire life. What a joke."

"Hey!" he protested. "I've been in trouble before! It's not like I've never been punished, or never had detention, or-"

"That's not trouble," I replied condescendingly. "That's just _cute._ Trouble is when you don't know if you're going to _live through the night_."

"And you think _Aisa_ knows more about that then _me_? He doesn't get in _any_ trouble; no parents to punish him, a brother who doesn't care about what he does..."

"If you know what's good for you, you'll shut the fuck up," I raised my eyebrow, knowing what would happen next and not bothering to cease the situation before it even came to existence.

"I mean, c'mon, if he doesn't even have _parents_ to punish him that basically means he's _never_ been in trouble before! At least I've had to deal with _that_ much," Kento finished triumphantly, clearly believing that I would be swayed by his oh, so _persuasive_ argument.

And then he was decked across the face.

"I did warn you, you know," I shook my head at him. Aisa stood over Kento, shaking his now-stinging knuckles.

"Try never knowing where your next meal would be coming from," Aisa hissed. "Try not knowing _when_ your next meal would be coming. Try having a switchblade pressed into your hand at four years old because your older brother was going to go out and try to earn _something, anything._ Try being the little ignorant, _terrified_ kid brother who didn't know when he would be coming back, _if_ he would be coming back. Or if he would be ganked in the streets and left to die in the gutter. If they would come for _me_ to try and get to _him_. Try _not knowing if you would live through the night_."

I stayed back. Sharing secrets cemented friendships and relationships. This would only further strengthen this team.

"I, uh," Kento started, but Aisa didn't let him finish.

"So if you have a _problem_ with me leading this mission, _go right on ahead_. Just know that you'll have a knife between your ribs and your shoes stolen in your sleep. You wouldn't make it through that town in one piece on the _best_ of days," Aisa finished bitterly.

I nodded to myself. Impressive. Aisa had just kept on attacking, and had given no room for a counterattack. Not half bad.

"As I said," I reasserted myself. "Aisa will be leading. You do _anything_ he tells you to, got it?"

All three genin nodded.

"Alright. Go on, then. I'll be watching, and I'll be overseeing the infiltration and recovery. If anything goes wrong in your quadrant, tell me through the radio ear pieces. Otherwise, in and out as quickly a possible in two days time. Go."

They did as I said.

And I settled down to watch.

…

It happened almost immediately.

Someone bumped into Kento, and Aisa immediately realized what had happened. He turned. I could see his lips from the treeline, but couldn't quite hear him.

"Stop," Aisa ordered. At Elat, I'm fairly certain that's what he said. I wasn't 100% perfect at reading lips, and they hadn't activated their ear pieces.

The man kept walking as though Aisa couldn't possibly be referring to _him_.

Aisa threw a kunai, which barely whistled past the man's ear. "I said," Aisa spoke out patiently. "Stop."

"Is there a problem?" the man turned and asked.

"You took my... friend's...wallet," Aisa replied easily. Kento froze and surreptitiously patted his pocket.

"Hey! Give it back!" Kento shouted. Aisa gave him a warning look.

Several people started watching the scene by now. "Your friend there slammed into me," the man growled. "So I took compensation for it."

Aisa's hand hovered near his pocket threateningly-they had removed their ninja pouches so as not to cause suspicion. "I wouldlike it back," Aisa warned.

A couple of men wandered forward, standing behind the original man in clear support against the outsiders. Michiko and Kento both fall into slightly more battle ready stances, but the man's gaze is drawn to Aisa's easy and relaxed poise, sensing the danger of a kindred spirit there. "Well, I would at least like and apology for him bowling into me," the man spat, going for Kento's humiliation to draw away from the fact that he would be giving the money back.

Aisa nodded once, turning to Kento. "Apologize to this fine gentleman," he ordered.

"Sorry," Kento muttered insincerely after an obvious hesitation.

"I think I want it to be a little more _heartfelt_ than that," the man sniggered. "Bow."

Kento glares. "No way, I-"

" _Bow_ ," Aisa ordered.

Kento made a little twitch with the upper half of his body.

"C'mon boy, make it seem like you really mean it!"

But Aisa was already moving. He kicked the back of Kento's knees, forcing him into a kneeling position then placing his foot on top of his head and grinding it down into the ground. "He's terribly sorry," Aisas apologized, sounding utterly bored with the entire proceeding.

When he takes his foot away Kento bursts up, spitting dirt and insults. "I can't believe you made me bow to scum like this stupid, dirty-"

"I'll teach you the respect that this boy obviously hasn't!" The man snarled. My eyes widened as the knife flashed towards Kento's throat. I certainly wouldn't arrive in time to stop it, and Kento wasn't reacting. But things were getting ugly. My identity would be revealed, and my location would no doubt be compromised.

But...

I sprung forward, and seconds after Aisa grabbed the man's wrist and stopped him from tearing into Kento's throat I appeared in front of the entire crowd, using my body as a shallow divider between the man and my three genin.

The man's eyes widened as he took in my appearance, and he tugged his hand violently away from Aisa's grip, in order to distance himself as he stumbled away from me.

Murmurs resonated from the crowd until one very loud, very clear voice stood out. He yelled in a frightened tone, much more clearly than the others, as he formally introduced my presence.

"Claw!"

….

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Hey guys! As J said, we really need lots of motivation for the upcoming chapter because we'll be doing lots of work on our original piece (which is time consuming and a lot more harsh than writing a fanfic) so if you guys want the next chapter, comment! If we have motivation then it'll be easier for us to get it all out while we suffer over our original hahah... XD

OK ANYWAYS!

Team ten's first mission! How exciting!

COMMENT!

Thanks for all the support, comments and votes guys :)

-S

Comment, Vote, and Fan!

Ja ne!

Insomniac_Lullabies


	18. Chapter Seventeen - Presence Revealed

A stain begins to spread across the pants of the man I had appeared directly in front of. My eyes are dead and I speak in a monotone, ignoring the piss that was soiling the man. "They are with me," I murmur.

"I... I, uh, of course! I apologize!" he mutters quickly. He tosses the wallet back towards Kento. "Here you are, young man! I... I apologize again, Claw." And with that the man takes off.

I watch him go, pretending not to notice as people slinked back inside, closing doors and shutters and leaving the street abandoned. I then turn to the three genin. A sharp glare shuts them all up, though Aisa seemed to understand that their were far too many listening ears here to say anything.

"Come," I order, sweeping down the street with the genin in tow.

I stride right into the mayor's mansion. I had made my presence known in this village; might as well get the most out of it. As soon as the guards see me they turn around and leave the area. Striding through the doors, I enter the study where the mayor resided. He spots me almost immediately, and doesn't mention my small entourage.

"Claw," I detect the nervous tremor in his voice and internally smirk sadistically at it. "What can I do for you?"

"I have been informed that you are currently serving a band of bandits who happen to have a rather valuable artifact on them," I reply.

The man swallows audibly. He was dangerous, crafty, and cunning, but he knew when he was outmatched. "Yes."

"Where are they now?"

"Upper rooms."

"And the artifact?"

"With them."

I nod and turn away. "What could the Rising Phoenix want with an old artifact?" the mayor wondered.

I turn and glare. "The whims of the Rising Phoenix are for me to carry out, not question. The same applies to you, considering the chest of gold hidden in your floorboards that the Rising Phoenix was _kind enough_ to gift you."

The mayor nods once. "Right. I'll leave you to it, then."

"Keep your men from wandering upstairs for at least twenty minutes," I order. "Lest they be caught in the crossfire."

"Of course," the man murmurs. "Very kind of you, Claw."

We make our way upstairs.

I don't give the genin an orders, hoping that they would be able to pick up on, "When I attack, you do" without any prompting. And so without any warning, I slam the door open and step inside.

"What the hell!" A man immediately shouts, springing up. "Who the hell are you?"

I don't answer, opting to scan the room instead. "One of your men is injured badly," I note. "That is why you took shelter here."

"What of it?" Another man growled. Ten men, one injured, four of us. A fair fight, then.

I allow a purposefully bloodthirsty smile to flash across my face. "It was the mistake that got you all killed."

The man looks confused, and grasps his thick blade tighter. "Got us ki-aghh!"

The man makes a gurgling noise as I tear through his throat with one of my blades.

The entire room freezes for half a moment before bursting into action. I'm running and slicing and doing my best to protect the genin as they fight with me and all too soon its over and with a start I realize a part of me _missed_ being the Claw.

All that power that came with the image, that came with being a part of something bigger than yourself...

And then the fighting was over and I returned to myself.

I'm panting slightly and I know that my hands are stained with blood. I straighten and survey the room. Despite my best efforts to protect them, all three genin had minor scratches and bruises.

"Um," Michiko spoke up as I pick my way across the body strewn room. "I thought we were trying our hand at an _infiltration_ mission?"

I turn and glare at Kento. "Yeah, well the local _ego filled idiot_ couldn't follow a simple order and nearly got himself killed," I snap. "That plan sorta went out the window."

"Why did the villagers know you? Who's Claw? What's the Rising Phoenix?" Aisa asks.

I rummage through the men's belongings, smirking in triumph when I pull out an old teapot. "Save your questions for later," I respond. "Just follow my lead. We need to get out of here as soon as possible."

All three genin groan slightly. "We've been traveling nonstop for two days and just got here," Aisa complains.

"Yeah, can't we rest for a bit before heading back?" Kento mutters.

I raise and eyebrow. " _You_ want to stay longer in this "shithole"?" I question.

Kento blushes slightly. "Well, everyone here seems to respect you so I thought we would get a good bed for a night instead of hard ground."

I have to hide my incredulity at these genin. Was _I_ this soft straight from the academy? I know in some way I was, but like _this_? Traveling nonstop? We didn't run through the night! Two days? Come on! They had to be able to last longer than that! And above all, how the hell could they mistake the villagers' and mayor's clear _terror_ of me as respect?

But instead of voicing all this I simply say, "No, you idiots. We need to put some distance between this village and us."

I didn't expect my presence here to go unnoticed. I was out of konoha. Out from its protective walls. And while there was one team of ANBU watching, there were far too many variables to predict and prepare for. It was dangerous out here.

And the Rising Phoenix definitely would realize I was here.

How long has it been since I'd appeared in front of that man and my presence had been discovered? Approximately thirty minutes, I muse. I turn to the team and snap a sharp, "Come on!" Before jumping out of a window onto the wall surrounding the mayor's mansion.

They follow without hesitation, though I can feel the questions building up and burning in their mind.

We ran for an hour before I stopped and spun on my heels, facing the genin.

"You're lagging," I spoke sharply. "we don't have time for you to be lagging. We need to get out of here-and fast."

"Sensei, where even are we?" Michiko asked breathlessly, hunched over and resting her hands on her knees.

"About 50 kilometers from the sand village," I said, and tilted my face upward to sniff the windy air. "Be prepared for a sand storm once we hit the sand village. We may need to take refuge in the village until it passes. I would say camp out in these woods until I sense the storm has disappeared, but..."

They didn't need to know about the Rising Phoenix. Not yet, at least. They would be terrified, and fear makes people stupid.

"Sensei, why-" Kento started.

"No questions," I snapped. These genin were absolutely _insufferable_. What with all their questions and whatnot. "Break time is over, let's start up again. We'll be at Sunagakure in less than an hour," I said.

They all took one last sip of water from their packs before setting into an easy run behind me.

Okay. It would take about an hour to reach the sand village. We could make it an hour. But that was the soft, team leader of three genin speaking, hoping. A useless mentality.

The Claw part of me, what had taken over 80% of my mind during this mission, knew what was coming. The Claw of the Rising Phoenix accepted nothing but success. The Claw was practically inhuman. It would catch up.

The Claw would be on our tail at any moment. And when it came, I had to be prepared.

I _was_ prepared.

The only issue was what to do with the genin. If I could-

I stopped in my tracks, resting a hand on the tree whose branch I was currently standing on. The genin stopped behind me without asking any questions, all too grateful for the rest.

I sensed the sinister presence of the Claw, yes. But what was more disturbing was that I sensed _two_ individuals. Two Claws. No. It couldn't. They wouldn't. It wasn't possible. They always worked alone. There was only ever one Claw. One Claw of the Phoenix.

But it was true. There were _two_ Claws.

The Rising Phoenix figured out that I as stronger than any of their Claws. So they decided to pit two Claws, who had no doubt worked together and polished their teamwork, against me. I smirk. But I had a team of ANBU to help split up that no doubt impeccable teamwork.

I looked at the situation rationally. I had four ANBU, but at _least_ two would end up dead. I had no positive way of protecting the genin.

And the Claws. Normally Claws leave everyone in the scene alone but the target. But If the Rising Phoenix adapted to their own situation—targeting me—then I wasn't one hundred percent sure they wouldn't pursue the genin.

"Be careful," I warned. Even if I wouldn't let them be involved in the fight, they needed to be on their toes.

"Cashile-sensei, what—"

They couldn't have sensed their presence. It was too concealed.

But what cut off Aisa's sentence were the two figures clad in black, and the two white, painted masks staring emotionlessly back at the four of us.

They were here. They had revealed themselves, which clarified their intent.

To kill.

….

Updates!

Reviews are kinda lacking and so inspiration is too :/ please post long beautiful thoughtful reviews for inspiration!

So yes please please review it means the world to us!

Hellooooo,

She said it! Reviews are lacking which doesn't necessarily kill our inspiration we're just not motivated enoughDx so.. What I'm trying to say is that.. It doesn't create inspiration. Yea that was the phrase I was looking for. ANYWAYS! What do you think?

Will anyone from her team DIEEEE? Duh duhn duuuhhhhnnnnnnn

Find out in the next chapter.

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For an update though you must COMMMENT!

Okay thanks love you guys bye 3

-S

Comment, Vote, and Fan!

Ja ne!

Insomniac_Lullabies


	19. Chapter Eighteen - Dual Duel

Well. Well. Shit.

I glare at the genin when they spring into battle ready positions and simply shake my head.

"No," I order. "Get back."

Aisa shoots me a look. "C'mon, Cashile," he complains. "We took on those bandits back in the village—"

"I said," I cut him off, allowing the persona of the Claw to take over slightly. All three genin pale and step back as the killer intent in the air doubles. "Stay back."

"But we're a team-" Michiko begins.

"No," I breathe. "You three are a team. I am your leader. And this enemy is nothing like the bandits you faced in that village. If you were to go up against them... You would be killed in an instance. So. Stay. Back."

I realized, in a split second of clarity, that I was far more terrified of fighting these Claws than I ever had been. Was it because I was out of the familiar territory of the Land of Fire? I dismiss it. I had fought in a variety of different territories as the Claw. Then was it because there were two of them? I dismiss this as well. I was wary, of course: two Claws could strategize and attack in synch. Incredibly dangerous, but there was no reason to be terrified of this—especially with a team of ANBU backing me up.

Was it because these three genin could easily die before the end of the day?

My heart skips a beat at the thought of the three of them dead, and I must acknowledge the truth of it. I didn't want to see these stupid little genin die.

Of course. It made sense. If they died here I would be responsible for it as their Sensei. I would be the one who would have to go to their parents (and brother oh god) and explain why they had died. People would treat me differently; Tsunade might think that my "rehabilitation" was interrupted and that could offset my plans for power—ANBU.

It made sense that I didn't want to see these genin die.

In a blur, the ANBU spring from hiding to join me, further cutting off the genin from the Claws.

The genin stood in shock, amazed. "Hey! Where did they come from?" Kento exclaimed.

"Shut up Kento, can't you see how dire the situation is? Just stay back and let Cashile sensei fight!" Michiko whispered aggressively.

Atta girl, I thought, keep them in check, don't let them do anything stupid.

I pulled out the twin knives from the sheaths on my forearms and held it in a defensive position in front of me. The Claws unsheathed their swords. They decided to go with swords instead of the double blades that I was more gifted at. Smart. I had dabbled with a sword as a genin, I muse, recalling the forest of death. I soon discarded it: boring and rather limited.

"Two of you watch the genin, two of you take the Claw on the right," I ordered the ANBU. There was a 82% chance that we would lose this fight if we didn't break the two Claws off from one another. When they were separate...well, the odds got slightly better.

Then I charged.

Of course I was aware of everything around me, just as I'd been trained. The three genin looked terrified as my knives clanged loudly against the Claw's sword in an x shape. They were grouped together tightly, and an ANBU stood on both sides of them.

The two ANBU weren't faring well against the Claw. I predicted this of course. As the Claw, I could take out at least 3 ANBU with no doubt or hesitation. ANBU—no one, really—just weren't prepared for the fighting style of the Claw. No regard to safety. No care for injuries or loss in life. There was just the mission. It was disconcerting and terribly difficult to defend against.

I was having a harsh time with my own Claw as well. If I could take care of the this one fast then I could deal a finishing blow to the other one, helping out the ANBU who were clearly struggling. I wasn't necessarily more powerful than the ANBU: I simply knew the enemy better.

I evaded the Claw's blade as it chopped deftly through the air, aiming for vital organs and body parts.

It was as fast as I was. I got close up to the Claw's chest and blocked it's sword with one of my blades. With the other blade I punctured his chest, jamming the blade underneath it's rib cage.

At least, that was my intention.

All of that happened brilliantly in my head. Before I could pierce the Claw with my blade though, it flipped over my head and slashed at my back.

I clenched my teeth, resisting to arch my back in pain. Fuck. I was too damn eager to end this fight and the Claw took advantage of it. The wound was shallow, I had no loss of sensation. Therefore, I was fine.

I turned around, whirling my twin blades and ignoring the blood droplets staining the ground.

This Claw was strategic. It was smart. But I was smarter. It relied heavily on it's sword and speed. Take that away and it wasn't half as powerful.

On the side, I noted that one ANBU was out. The other was struggling, and another ANBU joined in the fight, leaving the genins' right flank open.

I had to finish this. I feinted a side blow to the head and dived, hurtling to the ground, slicing at it's ankle forcefully. The Claw wasn't prepared for that: if my plan didn't work I would be on the ground with the Claw above me—a far too risky position.

But I didn't fail.

Crack.

Ouch. The Claw let out an unintentional scream and dropped to the ground. In a blurred move the sword was out of its hand and my twin blades were crossed over it's neck. Without hesitation, I pulled forward aggressively, swiftly decapitating the Claw.

I ran over to the fight with the other Claw. It seemed I had distanced myself quite a bit during the fight. I could see them in the distance. Three ANBU were out. One was dead. One was injured to the point it was unable to move. The last one had long knife sticking through his chest. He was breathing his dying breath.

The genin were in a defensive fighting position, trembling. None of them seemed injured. It looked as if they were smart enough to listen to me.

Then it all happened so fast.

"You know what guys, we're ninja of Konoha! We don't back down and we're not gonna just stand here trembling because we're scared. That's just pathetic!" Aisa yelled encouragingly.

Kento agreed, still shaking, but Michiko was unable to respond, frozen. Not even able to comment on how stupid Aisa was being.

"So come at us, baka!" Aisa threw a kunai at the Claw, which it easily dodged.

It didn't speak. They barely do. I barely had. But I knew what it was about to do: Aisa had gotten involved. Aisa had been an interruption in it's mission to kill me. Aisa had made himself the Claw's current target. There were no calculations, no percentages: this was absolute. There was a 100% chance that the Claw...

The Claw would kill Aisa.

It sprinted towards the defenseless Aisa, easily avoiding the ANBU and drawing back it's sword in preparation.

"Aisa!" I called, sprinting full speed.

I wouldn't make it. I wouldn't make it.

Please be smart enough to move, Aisa. To block. To avoid. To defend yourself.

But I knew that Aisa's eyes wouldn't even be able to register the Claw's movement.

I couldn't stop the Claw without injuring myself. Terribly. Not mortally. But it would hurt. Injury or death? My injury, or Aisa's death?

No competition. An injury vs a death? Without hesitation, I shoved myself between Aisa and the Claw. It's sword pierced through me, exiting out my lower back region.

I coughed up blood. Critical injury. Vital organ hit. It was either my liver or my kidney. My mind fogged up and suddenly; I couldn't tell. If it was my kidney, I would survive. It should have been my kidney. The Claw had jerked in surprise when I'd appeared directly in front of it, causing its sword to leave my predicted trajectory. The wound was worse than I was expecting.

I swear, if I knew I might actually be critically injured than Aisa could go ahead and have his head lopped off. Idiot. If it was my liver that was hit... It'd depend on how much damage I sustained, and whether the remaining ANBU could do basic medical ninjutsu.

The edges of my eyes were blackening.

No. These kids wouldn't survive without me. ANBU? The Claw could blow through them. But there was a chance the Claw would leave them be if I died. But then again, they would, of course, be complete idiots and attack the Claw to "avenge" me or something.

The riskiest course of action, but one in which they all survived in...

I grabbed the Claw's blade and shoved it deeper inside my body. I could feel the genin's eyes widen at my actions. No big deal. It worsened the wound, but I should survive.

And my survival was all that mattered.

I coughed up more blood but now the Claw was in my grasp. This was the only way I would win: by doing something completely unexpected. It was momentarily stunned by my actions too, so that gave me a slight advantage. I grabbed it's wrist and kept a tight hold on it.

I used what was left of my strength to bring my blade twisting upright, and cutting right through both of it's carotid arteries.

With a bloody gurgle, it screeched involuntarily, and fell, dragging me down with it.

With it's last breath, it was barely able to choke out the words, "No...thing less... from Mu...jōna."

I spat on it. "Damn right."

I stumble back, holding the sword steady inside of me. I turn to the ANBU, who was staring at me. "I don't suppose," I sway and cough wetly with the effort, "That you know medical ninjutsu?"

The ANBU points blankly to the horribly injured ANBU. His leg was twisted around and even I wince at the sight. Kento retches, though nothing comes up. "He was our medic nin," the ANBU replied, seemingly shell-shocked by the sudden carnage surrounding him.

The ANBU with the mangled leg look up. "If you come here," he gasps, "I can heal you. At least partly. Enough so you can get to Sunagakure."

I nod and limp over slowly. The genin hover unsurely, eyes flitting around, trying to avoid looking at the ANBU forces himself upright, his teammate helping as a small cry of pain escapes. "We have to pull out the sword, then immediately put pressure on the on your back."

"Wouldn't want me to bleed out," I mutter cheerily.

"I'll heal the internal damage first, then move outward. Hopefully I get enough work done before I pass out," he grits his teeth, clearly determined.

"Risu, you grab the sword and pull out when I say so. Kid," he gestured to Michiko, and she draws close, ignoring my smirk at the codename. Squirrel. Nice. "You take this bandage and press it to the exit wound. Turn on your side for me, Kuroki."

I do as he says without question, squeezing my eyes shut in pain as Michiko pressed the bandages into my back around the sword. "Good?" she checked with the ANBU, both hands and voice surprisingly steady.

"Perfect," the medic nodded. "Normally I have to order someone experienced to press harder."

"She is pressing plenty hard," I reply through gritted teeth. "And it's only going to feel worse when she's pressing directly on the wound."

"Saru," ha, monkey. "Ready?"

Saru tightens his grip on the sword.

"Kid?"

"It's Michiko," she snaps back. I snort, then regret it as the movement tugs at my wound.

"Alrighty," Risu announces. "Let's go."

It all happens incredibly quickly. Saru pulls on the sword, Michiko presses onto the wound to stem the blood, and Risu's hand is enveloped in a green glow. I glance down and can't pull my eyes away from the sight of my own grey pink viscera.

Saru snaps his fingers in front of my face, pulling my gaze away from my stomach. "Best not to look at that," he tells me lightly. I roll my eyes but listen to him.

"So," I smirk. "Squirrel. How did dear old Risu get stuck with that code name?"

Saru laughs, real and open despite the death of his teammates and I see suddenly how close he is, how both of them are, to breaking. How much strength it took to remain in their ANBU persona, to do what is necessary, complete the mission.

Saru chats while Risu works, telling stories about how when Risu was a kid he would climb a tree as easily as most people walk, going up to the highest branches, thin wood supporting his scrawny limbs. How he was nicknamed "monkey" because as a genin he would always chase Risu up the trees, follow him all the way up, until suddenly a branch would crack and he would be sent tumbling down. And then the talk turned to the dead ones, what they were like, what they would do. Risu's arms shake, but I'm not sure if it's from the effort of healing me, the pain in his own leg, or the pain in his heart.

Suddenly the green glow stops the hands hovering over my wound slip down and hit the ground. Risu is pale. Sweating. His leg is mangled. He's passed out. I stand. I need bandages; still injured, still hurt, but not mortally so. Saru squats beside Risu, and, with the help of Michiko, ruthlessly straightens his leg. Even when unconscious Risu cries out in pain.

Saru scoops Risu up and glances at the two fallen ANBU. I realize, suddenly, that Aisa and Kento are crouched beside the ANBU that was dying. I look questioningly at them, but they both shake their heads: dead. He was dying, mere feet away from me, and I didn't spare him a second thought. Sitting beside him while he died would do no good, so why had Aisa and Kento done so?

I suppose, I allow, they weren't needed here. They couldn't help me. And if comforting the ANBU as he died and letting him know we survived and that his sacrifice wasn't in vain made them feel better then who was I to argue?

Saru gives the fallen ANBU a long, hard look, but we both know; their bodies would slow us down. We had to leave them here.

My wound was wrapped-still bleeding, but not terribly heavily. I straighten. "Come on, team ten," I order. "Move out."

And we proceeded with the mission.

Update!

You guys were so freaking worried the we would kill someone off XD

Well, we did, but just ANBU, sooo.

Anyhow please please please please comment! Please!

Alright that's all from me!

Hey guys!

I'm swamped swamped swamped with work so I can't really write much of an authors note! Buuuuut I can ask you to comment so I'm motivated to write!

Thanks!

-S

TAKE THE TIME TO REVIEW!

Comment, Vote, and Fan!

Ja ne!

Insomniac_Lullabies


	20. Chapter Nineteen - Arrival

We barely beat the sandstorm to the Sand Village.

By the time we're at the front gates we're thoroughly exhausted. All I want is something sugary to eat and then to pass out for at least an hour (and the genin look as though they could use at least five hours sleep), but the completion of the mission took precedence.

Someone takes the injured ANBU with promises of a hospital. The remaining ANBU-Monkey-gazes longingly after Squirrel before disappearing. I glance around and find him on a rooftop, shadowing us. Then he dips around a corner and is out of sight.

One of the gatekeepers leads us towards the Kazekage's office. He doesn't speak, and when we enter I break the silence with only one request. "Please tell the Kazekage to drop any bureaucratic shit and just let us in without making us wait for an hour," I request as respectfully as I can manage under the circumstances. The sand ninja is still glaring at me for my impudence, so I search around for something to threaten him with.

"If we have to wait longer than twenty minutes we'll smash the teapot," Michiko speaks up tiredly.

No finesse. No subtlety. Crude.

Absolutely fucking beautiful.

I hit her upside the head for show, but glare at the ninja and I make certain not to contradict her. He pales slightly as my hands tighten around my backpack-which held the stupid teapot. He nods. "No need for that," he replies. "Our Kazekage has never been one for...bureaucracy." He hurries up the stairs at that, and a few moments later we hear him knocking on a door.

Only a minute or two later he returns. "The Kazekage is prepared to see you now, and thanks you for your patience."

A small smirk crosses my face. The messenger didn't pick up on and deliver it, but the sarcasm in the message is there. Despite the circumstances, I find that I'm incredibly amused.

We tramp up the stairs, the genin visibly exhausted while I'm able to pull on a mask of careless unruffledness with little effort. Two guards open the door for us.

I lead the way inside, scanning the room quickly. Books, windows, a desk, scrolls. The only two visible escape routes were the windows and the door. The door is guarded by two ninja. To get through the windows, you would have to get past the Kazekage. The Kazekage is as reading a scroll, hat shielding his face as we walk in.

Speaking of the Kazekage.

I bow, and the genin hurriedly follow suit. "Kazekage, we have comple—oh." As I rise out of the bow I catch my first glimpse of the Kazekage, who's hat had hidden his face—and hair—until this moment. He settles the hat onto the desk and continues to gaze at me expectantly.

"Yes?" he prompts in a familiar monotonous tone.

"Didn't I try to kill you?"

It takes a long moment—which tells me just how many people have tried to kill him—before realization and recognition sets in. "You were the girl with him," he murmurs in that even tone. "With Naruto."

I nod. "And now you're Kazekage. So, um, sorry about that?"

I don't exactly know how I expect him to react, and can only hope that it's not too badly. And he delivers. He lets out a short, scoffing, "Ha" which I suppose constitutes as his laugh. "You are the last person I ever expected to become a sensei," he commented, observing the three slightly confused genin behind me. I step to the side so I'm not blocking them off and they're included,

I wait a long moment for them to introduce themselves before giving an irritated sigh. "Michiko," I gesture, "Aisa, and Kento."

The three genin stand stock still and trembling, paralyzed by the Kazekage's gaze. Finally Michiko lets out a slight "Eep!" that breaks the spell. Then the three of them are hurriedly bowing again and mumbling niceties and I do nothing to cut them off, simply rolling my eyes at the show.

The Kazekage—I search for his name for a moment because, as much as I hated to admit, my memories of that time weren't nearly as organized as they once were (I make a mental note to organize them as soon as possible)—Gaara, returns his gaze to me. "The mission, then?" he questions, and I know that he's picked up on our exhaustion.

"The mission itself was rather simple," I reply, "And despite a slight...hiccup, the actual retrieval wasn't too hard. A C-rank mission, as you said." Gaara nods, but I can tell he can sense that there's more to the mission. "Unfortunately, we happened to run into two extremely powerful enemies—"

"—They were a part of some organization after Cashile-sensei!"

And oh my God Michiko really is an idiot. All three of these genin had showed such promise on separate occasions, only to send it all tumbling down in another situation. Stupid Michiko wanted to prove to the Kazekage how smart she is and how much she knows and how helpful she is and that she can add to the adult conversation and it's all I can do to not lower my head into my hands and groan.

Gaara turns his sharp gaze to me. "Continue," he invites softly, and I know he's asking for more than just the mission now. He wants me to expand on this topic. I glance to the genin. Gaara's eyes show slight surprise at the indicator that I don't wish to share this with my own team, but I simply shake my head slightly. He studies me for a long moment before nodding shortly.

"By my understanding," he intoned. "This mission has been a long and tedious one. Rui!" he raises his voice.

The door opens and a ninja steps in. "Yes, Kazekage?"

"Please lead these leaf genin to somewhere they can rest for at least the night," he glanced at me and I nodmy consent shortly.

"Yes, Kazekage," the ninja replies again. "Come, if you would follow me."

The genin glance towards me unsurely and I nod once again, indicating that they follow him. They troop out one by one and the door shuts behind them.

As the door shuts I allow my shoulders to slump a little more in exhaustion- not only was I quite fatigued but the show of weakness would open the Kazekage up to me more. He notices my exhaustion and gestures to the chair opposite him. I walk towards it, allowing my limp to show through as I make sure not to aggravate my injury.

"You're injured," Gaara stated.

"Sacrifices had to be made in order to win," I replytiredly.

Gaara calls in a ninja and holds a muted conversation. A minute later and a medic nin enters. We don't talk as she does her work.

"There you are! The area will be tender for a couple of days, but other than that, you're good! Hold back on training and sparring until there's little to no tenderness, kay?"

I nod and she leaves. Gaara and I stare at each other, and he's the first to break the silence. "Please explain the mission," he requests. "And any background information you are able to share."

And my respect for him skyrockets when he doesn't ask for the impossible, doesn't ask me to share everything. He asks for what I am able to share. He didn't ask for anything that could compromise Konoha. Anything that could compromise me. Just what I am able to share.

And with a weirdly relieved feeling in the pit of my stomach, I tell him my story.

"My team and I exited the gates of Konoha 3 days ago. We made our way to a small village where the group who had taken the artifact was located. Our aim was to infiltrate and take an artifact that had been stolen from the Land of Air. This was completed effortlessly. The trouble started on our travels back."

I assumed he hadn't been informed of my coming back from the dead, so I felt no need to tell him the details of all my whereabouts and history with the Rising Phoenix.

"Have you heard of the Rising Phoenix?"

Gaara nods briefly, once. "Yes, we've had quite a bit of trouble with them ourselves here and there. But they've mostly stayed out of our way, and we have extended the same courtesy."

Of course. As the Claw, I don't remember pulling more than one hit on someone belonging to the sand village. I suppose the Rising Phoenix had it's strategic reasons, but at that time I was trained to obey implicitly and immediately carry out orders without question. They focused their efforts on the Land of Fire.

"Well, the Land of Fire has been having some... Complications with this organization. We've been investigating them heavily and from what it seems, they're a major threat to us. My team was attacked by two of the Rising Phoenix's members. We had four ANBU with us, hiding in the shadows, as this attack was anticipated. As you know, two of them have died. The other two are heavily injured. I was able to keep the genin unharmed but not without cost."

"I see," Gaara says slowly, assessing the situation. He doesn't push for more information, specifically regarding my ties with the Rising Phoenix. "And then you made your way to the Village hidden in the Sand."

I nodded.

"Your team may stay here for the time being. The Sand has a long standing alliance with the Land of Fire. Once the sand storm lets out and your wounds heal completely, I will authorize a team to supervise your travels back to Konoha."

"Thank you," I say politely. I felt no need to tell him my presence may endanger his village. I'm certain he took it into account, and I certainly don't want him to change his mind.

"Your team had been given guest rooms. I will have someone escort you to a guest room as well. In the morning you can have your wounds assessed once more. "

I nodded. "Thank you again, Kazekage," I murmur with the amount of respect due to someone of his power. My tone remains emotionless. He regards me with something close to nostalgia, or regret, or sorrow and before I can study and understand what it meant the look is gone, the persona of the Kazekage taking over once more. He calls in a ninja who promptly escorts me down a couple floors and into a brightly lit hallway.

"Here is your room. Your team has been given rooms right next to yours."

"Okay," I say.

Those were the only words exchanged before he leaves me to be. And I reflect.

I take off my shirt and stare at the wound from the sword that went straight through my kidney. It isn't life threatening anymore. It's just a dark tender bruise. Memories flash through my mind. My immediate response to save Aisa. Of course I had given logic to that, but the possibility of Aisa's death. Oh god, and how would Aiden have reacted? He would have killed me, quite literally. He would never have forgi- these thoughts were useless. Aisa isn't dead. I'm not dead. We were all alive and therefore able to finish the mission. 'What if's' were utterly useless questions. What I need to focus on now is resting so that my body can heal faster, and we could start traveling back to Konoha.

With those thoughts I lay down and close my eyes so that I could rest.

My body snaps awake. I could feel the immense chakra in the air. It's Gaara. I know this chakra.

I burst from the room, hurrying into the genin's. Aisa and Kento were sharing a bed, while Michiko had one to herself. Aisa is wide awake, somehow sensing the danger while Kento ismore sleepy, clearly unaware of what was happening. Michiko, on the other hand...

She's on her bed, sitting bolt upright, hands clenching at her head. "Get up," I snap at Aisa and Kento as I hurry to Michiko. "Report," I order curtly.

"Hurts," is all she saysthrough clenched teeth.

I narrow my eyes. That wasn't exactly helpful. Then a gasp tore from her mouth, coinciding with a sudden spike of chakra in the air and I realized. I raise my eyebrows in surprise. She must be extremely sensitive to others' chakra to actually be in pain right now. The air is heavy with the screaming, roiling, sharp chakra.

"Focus on my voice," I order. "Only my voice. Everything else needs to fall away. My voice is the only thing on your mind. Close everything else off. Focus entirely on my voice."

She does as I said, eyes squeezed shut in pain. Slowly she relaxes as I continue to coach her, my voice monotonous, calm, unfeeling. Finally she squints at me, hesitantly lowering her hands. They almost immediately rise again as her focus slips, allowing the chakra to slam into her sensitive senses once more.

"Don't let your walls come down," I murmur. "You need to shield your mind. Don't ignore the warning, your senses. Just soften it."

It took almost five minutes for her to stand and nod, clearly still uncomfortable. But she was functional, and that's what mattered. "What's going on?" she asked.

The building shakes. "A fight, I would assume," I mutter. "Michiko, we'll work more on shielding your mind later. I never realized you had such fine tuned senses. It will come in handy later, I'm sure."

She nods.

"Who's fighting whom?" Kento asked.

"Let's go see," I offer. "This could be fun."

The genin look even more terrified at that.

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	21. Chapter Twenty - Flinch

Before we made it to the roof, where most people seem to be gathered, there was a bright light. Night turned to day. I reacted instinctively, dodging behind a building and hoping that if it fell down I wouldn't be buried in rubble. I glanced around, realizing that the genin had followed suit. Aisa, Michiko and Kento had their eyes squeezed shut and arms thrown over their head. I peeked around the corner, eyes squinting against the glare as I tried to figure out where it was coming from. The earth began to shake. A deafening roar fell upon us. A bomb? How would I survive if a bomb this large had been deployed? My mind suddenly stirs, instantly thinking of ways to survive the unsurvivable.

My eyes widened. Sand... All that sand hovering above us... I didn't need to figure out how to survive. Gaara was saving us all. All that sand...all that power... How, though? There's no way he had that sort of strength. Where did he find the power to do something like this, to save...

To save his entire village?

My eyes widen more than possible with shock, before they become narrowed in irritation. He cares. Not that I'm complaining, seeing as his caring saved me. But because of this, there was no way he would have any strength left to continue fighting, to save himself, to survive.

Idiot.

As soon as the attack seemed to end I pulled the genin out from behind the house, hurrying up to the roof. Another explosion soon rocked the sky and I glanced up. The sand remained steady despite Gaara's defense seeming to implode, then slowly began to move away. I sighed in relief when we were out of it's shadow; at least we weren't going to be buried alive. When I arrived, everyone looked terribly shocked. The boy in the strange black suit-who I remember as Gaara's brother-was shell-shocked.

"What happened?" I asked his brother, glancing up to the ball of sand that was slowly breaking apart, which I assumed held the Kazekage.

"He broke Gaara's ultimate defense," he replied slowly, staring in horror.

My eyebrows shot up. "Fuck," I breathed. "You're kidding."

He shook his head. "It's the Akatsuki. Gaara saved us, which gave the bomber the chance to attack Gaara."

Idiot.

"He reacted without even thinking," his brother-Kankuro-continued. Idiot. "He saved us all." Idiot. "Even though it opened him up to an attack." Idiot. "He used the last of his strength to move the sand away from the village so we wouldn't be crushed." Idiot. "And he's been captured." Idiot, idiot, idiot.

I looked up. Gaara and the bird are but a speck on the horizon. "What are you going to-"

"I need to save Gaara!"

They're all idiots!

...

They had sent a messenger hawk to Konoha. A team would be arriving soon. But other than that tidbit of information, I was shut out. The genin were exhausted. I was irritated.

"Sleep," I ordered the genin.

A roll of complaints and whining unraveled almost immediately.

"Shut up," I snapped. "Right now you three are completely useless and look exhausted. If anything were to happen, you would only drag me down. So sleep." I bite out.

They closed their mouths and stared at me wide-eyed before conceding.

When I felt all their chakras placing their location back inside their room, I relaxed slightly and rubbed my forehead. The Akatsuki. I was more than familiar with that name.

The Rising Phoenix had stayed out of their way. And for a reason. One of their members literally just took the Kazekage, the most powerful sand ninja, out. He had snuffed out his weakness, taken advantage of it, and captured him.

It was a perfect play.

And unlike the Rising Phoenix, the Akatsuki was a tight knit group of powerful comrades, almost. That gave them their own edge.

Well, Konoha would assign a different team to work with a team from the sand village. My team and I were not involved in this in any way. We had delivered the artifact. Our mission was over.

It was time to go home.

I would let them rest for a few hours before the journey though. In the mean time, I would pack for the travel back. It was approximately a two day travel. Therefore we would need supplies.

I headed to the store. There were whispers all around, and the scared looks hadn't abandoned the faces of the villagers just yet. Recent events would be most likely marred in their minds for a long time.

From a broader perspective, everyone had almost just died. If not for Gaara, a massacre would have been successful.

I walked into a store and gathered a couple mandatory items. Packaged foods, bandages and the like. It was time to go back. I was already tired of the sand that got everywhere, of the heat and dry wind. We had an alliance with the Sand, yes, but that didn't mean I needed to stay with my team. A bunch of genin weren't going to be any help.

I glanced around, finally catching sight of the ANBU. I beckoned him over, and with a nod he appeared. "Yes?" he asked, voice muffled only slightly by the mask.

"How is Squirrel's progress coming along?" I questioned.

He stayed silent for a moment before it clicked. "Risu is still in pain. His leg will take a long time to be fully funtional. He couldn't travel long distances right now," he replied evenly.

I nodded slowly. "Gaara probably didn't get a chance to order a squad of Sand Shinobi to escort us... and they'll all-understandably-be concentrating on saving Gaara and the crisis at hand."

"I wouldn't recommend moving without a full squad of ANBU or shinobi guarding you," Saru advised. "I could only do so much. The chances of us all dying if we met up with multiple Claws again is too great."

I blew out, irritated. "Which means we're stuck here for a while."

He nodded.

"We will send a messenger hawk to Konoha. At least then we can travel back within a reasonable time span. With everyone scurrying everywhere due to the kidnapping, escorts won't be a priority."

"I will get right on that," the ANBU said before disappearing in the blink of an eye.

And with that, I resigned myself to the wait.

...

I pushed open the door without an invitation, expecting the three genin to be resting, as I had told them to do so.

Instead, the three genin were sitting criss cross applesauce in between the two twin sized beds, seemingly appearing to be in the midst of an engrossing discussion.

"Surprise," I said aloud, holding up the bag of sweets I had purchased for them... And myself.

As soon as their eyes caught sight of the sweets the jumped to their feet.

"Yummy!"

"Alright!"

"Yesssss!"

I raised my eyebrow. "Okay, calm down. These sweets are to commend all three of you for your hard work and effort. Half decent job out there in the real world you three. You managed not to drag me down, for the most part. So have at it," I said, tossing at them one of the two sweets bags I had purchased.

I sat down on one of the two beds. "Now, over view of the mission. The do's and don'ts. Brief summary. Someone, anyone." I waited for someone to speak up.

"When Aiden provoked the mask guy that was stupid. Cashile-sensei got hurt!" Michiko half-glared at Aisa.

I narrowed my gaze at Aisa. "That's right," I flicked him on the forehead. "That's why you listen to whatever I tell you nut heads."

He gulped and stared at his feet, feeling the guilt. I didn't offer any words of comfort, though. His guilt would only strengthen him further.

Before any of the other genin have a turn to reflect verbally on their mission, I spoke up. "Well alright then, you guys reflect amongst yourselves. I have things to get done."

They almost immediately started criticizing one another.

"Try not to tear each other' throats out," I commented once more before exiting the room.

I entered my own room next door and yawned, allowing my body to recognize the stress it had been dealing- and all while in recovery. While I could operate on days without sleep, I always preferred to give my body adequate rest for optimum performance.

So I let my body slump behind closed doors and closed my eyes, wiping all the day's events from my mind to allow complete relaxation for the moment.

...

There are three swift raps on the door.

My eyes jolted open and immediately I slinked up to the door, blade ready to leap into my hand at a moments notice. Then I opened the door.

I'm prepared—constant vigilance, as a character from a book I read would say—for an enemy or attack, but a sand ninja is simply holding a piece of paper to deliver to me. I remained on guard, warily snatching the paper away and scanning it quickly.

I stared at the scrap of paper in my hand that the sand ninja had delivered to me. Apparently the Sand wanted to consult with me about the Akatsuki because the Leaf had more information pertaining to them than they do.

I sigh aloud. The Sand just couldn't wait for that team they had sent for, could they? I supposed the Sand hadn't gotten the memo: I haven't been in the Leaf Village for the past few years, having only recently returned.

But that didn't mean I don't know anything about the Akatsuki.

I followed the ninja, and he brought me before a small gathering of people before disappearing. A sand ninja, who I recall being Gaara's sensei at one time, turns to me.

"Hello. My name is Baki. Thank you for coming and agreeing to share information with us," he began respectfully. The tone in his voice was clearly devastated though. Someone else had been injured, critically.

I raised an eyebrow and ignored the obvious display of emotion. "There's your first mistake," I commented dryly, instead. "You assumed that me appearing before you constituted as me being willing to hand over information and be completely complacent and cooperative. I will share what I deem to. Now that we've cleared that slight misunderstanding up, please, continue."

His face may not have shown the anger he was feeling, but the desperate, furious look in his eyes gave him away. I smirked a little; he clearly knows that he can't vocalize his anger lest he irritate me. Ah, the power of having something other people wanted.

Another ninja didn't seem to get the memo. "Bitch!" he shouted. "Our Kazekage is in danger and you're going to hold back information that could save him?! The Leaf and the Sand have an alliance!"

I stared at him with a blank, cold look in my eyes. "I must have misunderstood. I didn't realize that an alliance meant sharing any and all knowledge with one another. May I take a look at the Sand's forbidden jutsus?"

That seemed to shut him up fast.

"I apologize for Tekuri's disrespect. Of course he didn't mean anything of it," Baki murmured, glaring at his subordinate who had spoken out.

Immediately the subordinate bowed his head apologetically. "Please forgive me," he said.

I nodded once. " Back to more trivial matters. There's not much I can say about the Akatsuki. While the leaf village has been directly confronted on more than one occasion by this organization, I wasn't associated with the leaf village directly during that time. What I do know is that they are after the tailed beasts. Which is most likely why they went through all the trouble of capturing the Kazekage."

"The tailed beasts..." Gaara's sensei murmured. "That makes sense. If they were-"

He was interrupted by a knock on the door, and a sand nin entering. "Excuse me sir, they're here. The team sent from Konoha."

I glanced at the door. Yes, I did feel the familiar presences. Of course it would be them. "Excuse me," Baki said. "But I must go and meet with the team sent from the Leaf. Would you like to join me with your comrades?"

I nodded, accepting his offer and joined him as he began to descend some stairs.

...

Treatment room 303. Their presence was inside this room. The room I had just learned Kankuro was being kept.

We burst into the room and I welcomed the sight of Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura. Another team from konoha. Maybe we could finally get that escort.

Accompanying team Kakashi was an ancient woman that looked as old as time itself.

Behind Sakura lay a deathly pale, sweating version of the Kankuro I had seen just last night when Gaara had been kidnapped.

I did call him an idiot for a reason.

"Cashile, good to see you safe," Kakashi said. I nodded at him. "Here to stop the Akatsuki?" I questioned.

"Pretty much. We're assisting in the rescue of the Kazekage," Kakashi replied.

"You should all just wait outside. Our first priority is healing Kankuro. This poison... I've never seen anything like it. It's spreading fast, but I can cure it. I'll need..." Sakura started to list ingredients.

Baki nodded. "Yes, I'll explain everything to you four now that you're all here. I'll tell you everything we know so far..."

His voice faded out as I stared down at Kankuro. Sweating. Pale. In tremendous amounts of pain.

 _I screamed out in pain for one vulnerable moment when I couldn't control the sounds I let out of my mouth. I then gritted my teeth and crushed my eye lids together, withstanding the excruciating pain that was spreading through my calf. The poison was traveling up my blood stream rapidly and I was dying._

 _"Dont worry, you won't die," a menacing voice comforted. Like hell those words were comforting. I glared at the man that stood in front of me, holding a syringe which contained a deadly poison. My body was limp but stayed upright from the chains that held my wrists and ankles._

 _"This isn't a punishment you know," the man continued. "All claws in training must go through this training in order to become poison resistant. Trust me, you're more useful to us with this training. Time for your second dose," he taunted._

 _Second dose? He then circled behind me and plunged the syringe right beneath my shoulder blade. A gurgle of pain escaped from my mouth and an uncontrollable whimper followed. "Give it a couple hours. This poison is slow, so you have plenty of time to get well acquainted with it before I administer the antidote. Then we'll move to the next poison."_

 _Now the flames spread throughout my arm as well, deeply charring my insides. All I could do to stay alive now was to learn how to deal with the pain._

 _I was helpless. It was all I could do._

I could have easily counter acted the poison in Kankuro's bloodstream. Or at the very least held it off longer than him. But I guess no one knew about my that.

And now that Sakura was here, there was no need to divulge that information.

"Cashilleeee, did you get any of that?" Naruto asked. I blinked and looked at him.

"What?"

"What Baki said! About the honored siblings and the puppet guy..." Naruto easily filled me in. I watched him. He was still wary. Still hesitant. But ten time more open than he used to be. Guilt does that to you, I guess. I could sense a worried look from Kakashi when I admitted to not paying attention but ignored it completely.

"The old lady inside is one of the siblings," I guessed after he had finished explaining the situation to me.

A nod of confirmation from Kakashi was all I received. "Well then I guess you guys better get going on your mission. You have a lot to get done in a short amount of time."

"We'll leave as soon as Sakura finishes healing Kankuro, but Cashile, can I talk to you privately?" Kakashi asked, looking mildly uncomfortable, but as level headed as always.

"The Akatsuki," Kakashi murmured thoughtfully, once we were out of audible range from the others. "We're going to need all the help we can get."

I studied Kakashi for a long moment before realizing what he was insinuating. "No," I immediately shook my head. Kakashi opened his mouth but I rambled on, not even pausing for breath so he wouldn't have a chance to interrupt me. "No way. My team is not ready for a clash with the fucking Akatsuki, especially considering that we just had a run in with the Claws, may I repeat, Claws, plural, of the Rising Phoenix, and—"

Kakashi raised his hand in a sharp motion to cut me off and I couldn't help but flinch away from him, remembering how he let me take the hit, how he let Naruto shove the rasengan into my body, how he became a little more like what I knew in The Rising Phoenix.

Kakashi, of course, caught the movement. I tried my best to blow it off, to act as though it was nothing. "So, then-"

"What was that?" Kakashi interrupted me, an oddly hurt look in his eyes.

"What was what?"

"That... that flinch. Did you think I was going to hit you?"

I opened my mouth, but no words make their way out. No explanation, no excuse, nothing that could get me out of this situation came forth. And so I slowly shut my mouth again and say nothing.

"I... Dammit, Cashile," Kakashi sighed, frustrated. He took a large step back, running a hand over his face. I stayed silent, head lowered and unsure of how to react. "Cashile, we may have been arguing, but I would never... Never-" he cut himself off once again, words failing him. Something seemed terribly broken about this moment and I couldn't find it in myself to say anything.

The silence drew out, long and painful and holding the weight of things left unsaid. Then, "My team," I spoke in a small voice, "Is not ready for this mission."

Kakashi stared at me but I refused to look him in the eye lest he glimpse something there that I wasn't prepared for him to see. "Okay," he finally gave in. "Okay."

"As long as a team of skilled ninja can't safely escort my team back to Konoha, I'm afraid I can't be of use to you either," I replied.

"That's very responsible of you Cashile," Kakashi said, an almost proud look twinkling in his eyes.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever."

"I will see what I can do about the escort. It can most likely be arranged."

I nodded. "Good. If that's possible, I can help out. I guess we're going to hunt some Akatsuki down," I smirked.

This would be my first time battling the Akatsuki. A strong organization, very similar to the Rising Phoenix in some aspects and outrageously different in others. I could think of this as a practice run for the Rising Phoenix.

It would be exciting.

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	22. Chapter Twenty One - First Fight

Pakun had reported the exact location of the Kazekage to Kakashi early in the morning. Which meant it was time to leave.

I strolled into the room of my genin, intending to inform them of the situation and bid them farewell.

"Wake up brats, it's time for my departure," I said, flicking on the lights.

Three groggy genin were up instantly, aware of the situation at hand. "You're leaving already?" Aisa asked, worry lacing his voice.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, baka. This is the Kazekage we're talking about," I addressed all three of them at this point. "A team of ANBU will be here within a day's time to escort you back to Konoha. Behave. I won't get yelled at for your stupidity when I get back," I glared at them. "And lastly, once you return to the village, take a day off. Rest. I want you three to report to Ibiki Morino every morning at 8am sharp. Tell him exactly that, he'll know what to do. And listen to whatever he says. Because he will assess all three of you and report back to me, and I better like what I here. Got it?"

I almost smirked. They were going to have so much fun training under Ibiki.

And Ibiki would be pissed to, which was a plus. But he owed me for that one time so I figured he'll train them while I'm away.

A barrage of complaints surfaced but one glare shut them up.

"Alright knuckleheads, cya," I waved to them as my back was turned.

I could tell that they wanted to say more, especially Aisa, who's anxiety was emanating off the charts, but I ignored those mixes of emotions and left without turning back.

They were probably worried that I wouldn't come back alive, given the previous day's' situations. It was a totally possible outcome, of course.

No one was safe in this profession.

I exited the village gates, joining Team Kakashi, sand ninja and granny chiyo, the old woman and one of the honored siblings.

"Ready to leave?" Kakashi asked, shooting a worried glance at me. I rolled my eyes at that.

"Yeah, whatever."

I assessed the old woman who would be accompanying team Kakashi and I on the mission. She was strong, there was no denying that.

But having her here could compromise the mission. She had a personal connection to the enemy, who wouldn't hesitate to use this weakness against her.

Who, I wasn't sure. But after all her years of sitting back she just cared about this mission too much.

We started running.

My eyes drifted half shut against the glare of the sun as we ran. Naruto and Sakura were panting, but I reveled in the heat, soaking it into my bones. I could come out here, I mused. The desert was nice. The heat. The sun. I could get used to it.

Except for the damn sand that got everywhere.

I looked up into the empty blue sky, watching a single vulture circle in wide, lazy arcs. My head tilted slightly. I remembered a time when vultures were circling me. I thought I was going to die. Maybe I did die, a little.

The air was getting colder around me, goosebumps rising on my skin as the temperature seemed to drop. I realized my mistake and shook my head sharply, coming back to the present. It was burning hot, not cold. It was an oven out here. The air wasn't getting colder. I was on a mission.

Kakashi must have caught the movement because he casually angled his run so that he's next to me. I could barely keep the sigh and rolling eyes contained; he would want to talk. Couldn't he see that I didn't want-didn't need-to talk?

"You alright?"

This time a short sigh did escape. "Don't ask stupid questions," I snapped.

"You got attacked by two Claws of the Rising Phoenix," Kakashi replied quietly. "Two ANBU died. One was injured badly. You yourself were stabbed. It's okay if you're not okay."

I raised an eyebrow. "Eloquent," I replied dryly. "But I'm fine, Kakashi."

He studied me out of the corner of his eye. "Cashile-"

"Kakashi," I cut him off. "Is this really the time for... whatever you're trying to do? Sharing and caring? Don't forget that we're on a mission."

He looked at me for a long moment before nodding. "Well then, listen up, everyone! There's some information we should go over before we have to confront anyone."

I listened closely, filing the information away inside my head.

Bijuu are the uncontrollable demon spirits with mass amounts of chakra.

Jinchuriki were human bodies used to contain these spirits for villages in need of destructive weapons.

The Akatsuki were seeking all of the jinchuriki to attain mass amounts of power.

And finally, we couldn't let that happen.

I knew most, though not all, of that information already. I was well informed of major organization and criminals and major players in the ninja world. I needed to be, as a Claw. Didn't want to piss off someone stronger than me.

Like a member of the Akatsuki.

Speaking of, we came to a halt.

A strong presence had stopped us in our tracks. Dull emotionless red eyes met mine, and I knew. I'd seen those sort of eyes before.

And those were the eyes of a broken man.

"Itachi Uchiha," Naruto ground out, glaring at the man, who I immediately related to none other than the Sasuke Uchiha.

Of course. That explained so much.

Granny Chiyo, Sakura and Kakashi stiffened. "Careful," Kakashi warned gravely. "One glance in his eyes and you'll be stuck in his genjutsu."

Well dammit. My first run in with the Akatsuki would be a genjutsu user.

I immediately adjusted my eyes elsewhere, but Naruto, idiot he was, gathered mass amounts of chakra into his palm and ran forward. "Rasengan!" He drew back his arm and aimed, making contact with... the air.

And suddenly he was stuck in a trance. I connected the dots almost immediately. Of course. Someone as powerful as the infamous Itachi Uchiha, slaughterer of the entire Uchiha clan (save one), would in no way be satisfied with such limited power.

And I'd bet you gold that he could cast genjutsu with much more than his eyes.

If I could get a hit on him fast enough, while he was entertaining Naruto, then maybe... I flashed in front of the Uchiha in preparation to strike with my twin blades, and within milliseconds found myself in an empty space.

It was genjutsu. I knew it was genjutsu. I was never bad at recognizing a genjutsu. In fact, I would say I was better than most.

It was creating them and getting out of them I still had trouble with.

The Rising Phoenix had never specialized in ninja skills. They had to have some way of keeping their Claws in line. Therefore my ninjutsu and genjutsu were definitely lacking. Genin level.

Well. My genin level. Though most genin could probably escape a genjutsu better than I. A thought that infuriates me.

On the bright side, my assassination skills and techniques were top notch, which more than overcompensated for what I was lacking in.

Ibiki would have a fucking field day with my lack of nin and gen jutsu.

But those more recently acquired skills wouldn't suffice in a fight against an opponent, especially one strong in ninjutsu; such as none other than Itachi. I'd just have to rely on my old skills—or, I'll admit, lack thereof—to get me out of this situation.

"Itachi Uchiha," I said his name as he appeared in front of me. "Fine genjutsu you've trapped me in."

He said nothing, which I had already anticipated. But I was okay with that; his facial expressions and body language spoke volumes more than his words ever could.

With no other option viable yet to rattle him, I attacked. I knew it would be no use. I knew that any attack he willed would harm me. It would hurt, but my physical body would not be damaged. And pain was something that I could tolerate.

He evaporated instantaneously into multiple crows. The sky darkened, turning into a violent shade of violet. Storm clouds brewed above and thunder echoes across the skies. Lightning streaked in a form that singed the ground near my right foot.

"Scary," I muttered, analyzing the genjutsu clone that had formed in front of me. He seems to recognize the slight sarcasm.

And suddenly I was in a small metal cage, knee deep in ice cold snow.

Panic rose from my chest, radiating from my heart cold bit into me and I could feel myself slipping as the memories came surging forward. He knew. How could he know? How could he-

I narrowed my eyes at the shadow clone of Itachi Uchiha, reminding myself that this was a genjutsu. I harshly drag my mind back to the present. Of course he would try to use my haunting past against me. Nothing less from the infamous Uchiha. Itachi played mind games. My specialty—and I wouldn't let him beat me at my own game.

So I did what I do best. What I was always best at, even as a Claw: I observed him. I studied him briefly, watching his every movement, his posture, his facial expressions which said so much about his character. I knew of him, of course. His past. His actions. Everyone knew of him and what he'd done. I'd gone and studied his case with more depth than most; the entire situation had seemed slightly... off. I never did pinpoint what was wrong with the entire story that sat so wrong with me.

But then I knew. Having him there in front of me, watching him, it all suddenly clicked. I visibly raised my eyebrow in a chastising manner. "Itachi Uchiha, you selfish bastard," I started my read on him. "Selfishly sparing Sasuke's life to nurse your own guilt? Do you know how much pain you've caused him?"

It wasn't much, but for a brief second his expression changed to that of a man who was utterly... Broken.

It was there, if only for a second, encouraging me to continue. He hadn't expected this, I could see clearly. He hadn't expected me to be smart. He wasn't prepared for this and I had to press this advantage, no matter how small. I visualized the metal cage starting to crack.

It did nothing. Yet.

"I've heard all about you, you know," I said. "Slaughterer, murderer. Extinguished your entire clan, all in a night's work. It's almost... Admirable. It was very well put together. Must have been planned meticulously. I still don't understand how you alone managed it." There's no flinch, nothing at all to judge in his reaction other than a lack of one. So I continue.

"Maybe you're just smarter than me. Unlikely. I probably am still missing a key piece. You did well. Almost perfect. But there was a mistake." He didn't react, but I knew he would soon. "The mistake, of course, was Sasuke."

Cold chains wrapped painfully around my wrists, spreading my arms outward, while Itachi Uchiha entered the cage.

"You are..." His dull sharingans said much more than he himself spoke. "Insufferable."

He shoved a kunai into my abdomen, about 6 inches deep. I sucked in a deep breath but held the pain. I had dealt with much more in the Rising Phoenix. I didn't have to last much longer. Soon someone would release me from this genjutsu.

I gritted my teeth and spoke through the pain as he twisted the kunai inside of me. "Don't like facing the truth, huh? Coward. You didn't spare Sasuke for Sasuke's sake. You spared him for yours. It's hard to believe that you actually ever loved Sasuke. You destroyed his life by leaving him alive. It would have been the act of a merciful man to take his life." He's twisting the kunai again and I can't help but lose my train of thought for a moment, squeezing my eyes shut.

The cold harsh metal. The chains. The cold. The pain... Bad tool bad tool—

"The real question, I suppose-" I cut myself off with a gasp but grit my teeth and continued. He might have me in a genjutsu but I'd be damned if I didn't win the mind games. "The real question," I repeated. "Is whether you're truly a monster who did the cruelest thing possible to a young boy, or if you're just another selfish human, who, even when you killed your mother and father and clansmen, couldn't kill your little brother. Either option is rather terrible, for you."

He showed no emotion, but showing no emotion is an emotion in itself.

"Maybe," I theorized, "Just maybe, though... you do love Sasuke. Maybe-"

I was yanked from the genjutsu before I can finish the thought. But I saw Itachi's eyes. They made me wonder about the validity of the story we had been told all our lives, of Itachi the monster, Itachi the murderer, Itachi, the killer of the Uchiha.

Because his eyes were past devastated. Past heartbroken. Past depressed.

They were broken.

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IM A GRADUATE WOOHOO!

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Insomniac_Lullabies


	23. Chapter Twenty Two - Don't Die

I blinked once, then scanned my surroundings. Kakashi was kneeling on the ground, about ten yards in front of me. The old woman had placed her hand on my shoulder—I forced myself not to flinch away—and Sakura stood next to a wide-eyed Naruto.

Naruto and I had been trapped in a genjutsu. Chiyo had forced me out of the genjutsu while Sakura had helped Naruto. Kakashi had attacked to provide a distraction.

And Itachi Uchiha stood in front of us.

Broken.

Although I was the only one who knew that part.

"What about the shadow clones?" Naruto asked stupidly. I ignored him, studying Itachi as well as I could without looking him in the eye. Something wasn't right. I didn't understand Itachi Uchiha or the stories behind him. And I hated not knowing. Knowledge was power. And Itachi Uchiha was an enigma.

"Alright. It's time to get serious," Kakashi announced. "Naruto. Follow my lead."

I raised my eyebrow, slightly stunned. He hadn't included me. Was it because I was so spectacularly useless against genjutsu? Most likely.

Against Itachi, though, it didn't matter if you were good or not: he was better. Naruto was still staring ahead, eyes wide and shocked. I wondered vaguely what he saw that caused him to look like that. Then I wonder if I looked the same.

I felt shocked and confused enough that I might.

Sakura slapped Naruto lightly. "Snap out of it, Naruto," she ordered, then turned to me, prepared to do the same.

"You lay a hand on me and I will break your wrist," I warned emotionlessly. After that genjutsu, I just might, too. My hand twitched once, and I realized just how much I felt like a Claw, and how little. Claws weren't meant to have emotions, and right now I was on edge. Claws weren't meant to show mercy, and right now I wouldn't, couldn't; I was feral, brutal. I could kill someone and not even blink. I was a Claw, yet I wasn't.

Maybe that's why Kakashi hadn't included me.

Kakashi sprinted forward, immediately dodging a barrage of fireballs from Itachi. We were forced to dodge as he sent another large one towards us. I watched Kakashi as he got in position, and Naruto as he prepared a rasengan. A good plan, but I instinctively knew that it wouldn't work: Itachi was too good. I could never hope to beat him in a one on one battle. I'm not even sure I could beat him even if we were restricted to taijutsu only.

Though I do know I could put up a hell of a fight where taijutsu was concerned.

I had to bite down an ironic laugh as I realized what I was once below average in—taijutsu—was now one of my best areas. And I knew that it made me a terrifying opponent. My taijutsu skills were impressive, but not so strong that I would be impossible to defeat. It was when you added my ability to read people and predict their next move that I became a truly fearsome enemy.

Kakashi attacked with a chidorii, while Naruto appeared above Itachi with his rasengan at the ready. Sakura, Chiyo, and I were forced to take shelter behind the trees as debris flew everywhere. "Did they get him?" Chiyo asked breathlessly.

Sakura peeked out from behind a tree. "Naruto!" She shouted.

I winced and immediately moved to new cover; Sakura had given away our position with her cry. With a quick glance around the tree I sprinted to a different clump of trees and clambered my way to the top quickly, then fell completely still, clamping down on my chakra. I had the perfect vantage point from my position, and could see that Naruto had hidden behind some trees as well while Itachi had managed to dodge the attacks.

I narrowed my eyes but otherwise remained still so as not to give away my positioning. As the Claw I would sometimes need to remain perfectly still for hours on end in wait for my prey. This was nothing. I scanned the grounds again. This wasn't going to work. Naruto and Kakashi couldn't defeat Itachi with their attacks alone.

A mist began to move in and I tensed before sensing Kakashi's chakra and realizing that it was his technique. A few moments later, I heard Chiyo reassure Sakura of the same thing. I don't move even though I wanted to shake my head in disbelief; first Sakura, then Chiyo! Even Naruto was doing a better job at keeping his position hidden than those two!

I tracked Itachi carefully. Kakashi was preparing something; what, exactly, I wasn't sure. But I had to be ready to react and attack in an instant. I also knew that this technique would barely hinder Itachi's eyes at all. My mind raced, trying to find some sort of tactic that could beat Itachi.

I was coming up depressingly short.

"Can we stop this game of hide and seek, Kakashi?" Itachi called out. In an instant I realized that Itachi knew exactly where all of us were. I still didn't move, for two reasons: just in case it was a bluff and he didn't know where I was, and because this spot was still the most advantageous area for me to start the fight.

Kakashi stepped out slowly. I remained crouched on the tree branch, watching closely as the fight began again. Itachi attacked with a fireball, but I know Kakashi would dodge it. When underground, I'm certain he'll make a shadow clone.

Kakashi did exactly as I predicted, and Itachi doesn't seem to notice. I furrowed my eyebrows. That...wasn't right. Itachi attempted to trap Kakashi in a genjutsu, not recognizing that it was a shadow clone. The clone grabbed Itachi's arm to prevent him from moving. This was Naruto's chance to attack and it was all wrong and all too easy. Naruto sprinted towards Itachi and the clone, wielding a giant rasengan and I still can't believe that this was the Itachi Uchiha standing down there who had been fooled by such a simple, if well pulled off, deception.

Then the rasengan connected, Itachi smiled, and I realized.

That wasn't Itachi Uchiha.

Chiyo and Sakura cautiously stepped out from behind their cover, walking forward to view the body with Kakashi and Naruto. I couldn't force myself from the tree until I knew that the danger had passed.

"W-what?" Sakura whispered.

"What is this?" Naruto asked, shocked.

"It must be one of their techniques," Sakura snarled, disgusted. I wondered briefly what she would think of me if she knew all that I had done. But I didn't have to wonder; I could predict. I knew what she would think.

Traitorous bitch. Assassin. Monster.

And on many levels she would be correct. Technically, if unwillingly, I was a traitor. There was no denying that I was a heartless assassin. Many would have called me a monster.

Many did.

But I liked to think of myself as a survivor.

"Do you recognize him?" Kakashi questioned Chiyo, staring at the body.

"Yes," Chiyo admitted. "He was a jonin of the sand village. He went missing right before Gaara was kidnapped."

Akatsuki spy? I wondered, hearing Sakura echo my thoughts out loud. It was entirely possible, but it didn't answer how he became Itachi Uchiha: the man we fought against wasn't the man who was lying dead on the ground, and those attacks were definitely Uchiha attacks. That was Itachi Uchiha fighting, until the end.

He had stronger techniques up his sleeve, though; techniques that could have ended us in a heartbeat. Why had we won? And why wasn't that Itachi's body on the floor?

His goal wasn't to win, I realized, but to delay. And he had been succesful. Perhaps what we were fighting was an advanced sort of clone that didn't disappear on the first hit. The durability might have been ramped up by using a dead body as part of the jutsu. I couldn't figure out how they did it, but the theory made sense.

Chiyo pulled out ink and a brush, and began making notes. Kakashi glanced around, realized I wasn't there, and opened his mouth. "Cashile?" he called out. A smirk came to my mouth as Sakura and Naruto glanced around worriedly, unable to spot me.

I dropped drown silently from the tree I was in. It took everyone a moment to spot me. Chiyo studied me from the corner of her eye, and I can practically see the interest spark. Kakashi turned fully toward me. "What's your take on this, Cashile?" he asked.

I remained silent for a long moment, scanning the body of the man as I drew closer. "It's some sort of clone technique. The durability was enhanced by the human body it was based off of. Itachi's—I do believe that that was at least a part of Itachi fighting us—goal was to delay us," I replied quietly. "And he succeeded."

"If they used this powerful of a technique just to delay us, there's no doubt," Chiyo murmured. "They've already begun to extract the bijuu."

Kakashi glanced at me with raised eyebrows. I nodded my agreement. Kakashi nodded back while Naruto and Sakura made shocked noises. "But, you said earlier that it wasn't possible to control the tailed beasts," Sakura protested.

"Do you really think that would have stopped Nations from trying to obtain them?" I asked, tilting my head slightly. "All that power... think of what a nation could do with it. And if one nation obtains a tailed beast then the others have to as well, or risk being at the other nations' mercy."

"Exactly," Chiyo whispered. She finished writing on her scroll and brought out a yellow mechanical bird, twisting it to life. "You know what to do," she said, placing the scroll into the birds beak. It flied off, and we all watched it go. "Jinchuuriki gain unimaginable power when they merge with the tailed beast," Chiyo sighed.

Sakura looked back and forth between Chiyo and me, a frown pulling at the corners of her mouth, then finally asked, "Countless wars have been started by using jinchuuriki, haven't they?"

"Of course," I replied. "It is only logical."

"Indeed," Chiyo agreed.

"But then—!" Sakura cut herself off, turning to Naruto. Her gaze grows worried, not only for Gaara but for Naruto as well. "How do you extract a bijuu?"

I glanced at Chiyo, curious as well. She explains slowly, and we're all hit with the sudden realization that if we didn't save him, Gaara would die.

Something like a rock settled deep into my stomach. I don't understand it, and wonder what the feeling was. Naruto and Sakura looked shocked, horrified, terrified, even. Chiyo exhibited nothing but regret. Kakashi simply looked depressed by the reality of this world. I knew that my own face was emotionless. Tears filled Sakura's eyes, and I tilt my head once more; why did she cry so readily for people she barely even knew? How could she cry so readily for people she barely knew?

"You always cry so easily, Sakura," Naruto declared. "No need. I'm going to save Gaara."

I looked towards Kakashi and he met my gaze readily. I tilted my head, blinked, and his eyes seemed to grow more depressed as he realized that I didn't understand why Sakura felt that way, why Naruto was so determined. He lowered his gaze to the ground, seemingly unable to hold mine any longer as his shoulders slumped.

I wondered at the rock in my stomach for a long moment, then opened my mouth to speak. "I don't want Gaara to die," I said to him quietly, slowly. The rock lightens. Kakashi gaze shot back up from the ground, wide eyes meeting mine. His breath froze in his throat and he couldn't seem to believe what he had heard. I tried the words again. "I don't want Gaara to die."

It made sense. It made sense that I didn't want Gaara to die. He had shown me kindness. He was a good leader. He was in a position of power and I knew him well enough that I could manipulate him, if the situation called for it. It made sense that I wouldn't want to lose that advantage in his death.

Kakashi eyes are wide and shocked and hopeful and he gave me a small, hesitant smile. I don't smile back; simply cock my head and wait for him to respond. "We won't let him die," he declared. "We'll save Gaara."

I watched him closely before nodding shortly. Empty words, I knew. But all the same I took off into the trees after him and Naruto, ready, at the very least, to try.

Because I didn't want him to die.

Hey guys! There's a fast update for all of your and your inspiring comments!

Well, I'll let J cover most of the AN I'm headed to my graduation!

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I know what you guys are thinking.

Holy shit that was such a quick update!

Yeah. We're awesome like that. Writing instead of studying for exams and stuff.

That being said, don't expect another super quick update: it's exam week this week! So maybe next week.

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Insomniac_Lullabies


	24. Chapter Twenty Three- The Death of Gaara

"Pathetic," I muttered to myself. We had slowed down considerably, given the speed at which we had been traveling earlier. Kakashi seemed to have heard my grumbling as he picked out the most advantageous opening in the forest and made a clear path for it.

We followed his lead, pausing in our run on the grounds he landed on. "We're stopping here and resting for the night," he announced.

"A wise choice," Granny Chiyo agreed. Naruto, on the other hand, was more difficult.

A fit of rage leaked from his body as he argued, "But Gaara will die! You said so yourself; we have no time to waste!"

"Idiot." I rolled my eyes.

Naruto angrily stalked towards me and grabbed the neck of my shirt. "Every time you seem even a little human you have to go and ruin it. Gaara will die," he appealed.

I glanced emotionlessly at his hand, which held my shirt. Kakashi seemed to sense my intense murderous intent in the air because he tried to warn Naruto. "Naruto—"

Too late.

I kicked his chest with my heel and had him in a headlock within two seconds. I found the pressure point surrounding his temple that I was looking for, and pressed down with two even fingers.

Naruto was knocked out in all but an instant. I made eye contact with everyone else in the group, daring them to call me out on what I'd done. My eyes landed on Kakashi, who's mouth was still open in warning.

"Learn to control your subordinates," I snarled slightly. When no one spoke up to chide me, I shrugged it off. "He needed rest anyways," I murmured, "We could very well be facing our opponents tomorrow. And this idiot," I gestured towards Naruto, "would most likely run his energy out, and fight exhausted, putting himself and all of us at risk."

I listened to the exasperated sigh from Kakashi, who seemed weary but expectant of my actions. "Cashile is right, however her methods may seem. We may be facing our opponents tomorrow. And we all need rest. I'll take first watch, everyone else, rest." Kakashi said.

I raised an eyebrow looking at my former sensei. "I can take first watch," I stated. I wasn't being difficult, it was simply a fact; I could do just as well, if not better, without sleep than Kakashi.

"Not necessary, you need to rest just like everyone else," Kakashi replied tiredly.

"Please," I scoffed. "If only you knew how much my body has dealt with and done without sleep for days. I'll rest," I assured. After all, no matter how skilled I was, just as everyone else, I was still human. My body would perform better when adequate rest was received. "But let me take first watch," I finished.

Kakashi analyzed me for an instant. He didn't seem to know whether to insist I get my rest or acknowledge my strength. In the end he conceded. "Fine," he said, walking to Sakura, who was building a fire. I'm shocked for half a moment to see the fire, before reminding myself that it was normal. It was normal for ninja to build fires to ward off the chill, no matter how it put them at a disadvantage, how it made them easier to spot.

I shook away the strange sense of being at once both superior and inferior to the ninja surrounding me before jumping up into the tree with the best view of all the open angles, and settled down on a cold, dark branch in the shadows. I fell still, eyes slivered, keenly alert for even slight movements that may be the enemy.

My comrades below slept peacefully around the warmth of the flames.

***-...

"Rise and shine," Kakashi spoke, waking the entire camp. I opened my eyes and stared at the sunlight gleaming through the thick forest trees.

Night shift had been split evenly with Kakashi and myself, and now that everyone was well rested it was time to pick up where we left off yesterday.

After all, a challenge did await us at the end of the tunnel today.

"Five more minutes," Naruto grumbled. I rolled my eyes.

"Weren't you the one going on about how we had no time to waste in order to save Gaara?" Kakashi reminded.

With that, Naruto was on his feet, rambling motivational phrases. I sighed quietly. Everyone was so loud and so slow. As the Claw I would have been on the move before dawn. I would have been at my destination by now.

As the Claw I wouldn't have even stopped, I reminded myself. This was normal.

When we started moving we were on the fast track. Within a few hours, I sensed powerful chakra signatures ahead. It wasn't long after that that we stepped on solid ground before a watery front and a solid boulder, clearly covering the entrance to the Akatsuki's current location. They weren't being deceptive about their location in the slightest, which meant that they had confidence in their strength.

Four people stood in front of us, having arrived just a few moments earlier. The only reason I didn't jump to defend or attack was my observation of Kakashi's relaxed stance.

They must have been allies.

I studied each of them. If memory served (which it did), these three were genin during the year that team Kakashi took the chunin exams. Before Sasuke left to be with Orochimaru, and before I was taken.

They weren't powerful enough to be targeted individuals on the Rising Phoenix's hit list, but none the less they were strong. At least, Rock Lee and Neji Hyuga were. Rock Lee could put up a good fight against me. The only reason I would definitely win is his lack of chakra.

Personally, I thought Ten Ten's skill was useless. So she could summon weapons. What else did she have to offer? Nothing, from what I'd heard of the chunin exam. But, then again, a lot of time had passed since then.

People change. I was a prime example of that.

And then there was their sensei, Gai, who rivaled Kakashi in terms of strength and skill. And slightly terrified me. He and Lee were just a little too unpredictable for me to be comfortable with.

"Naruto!" Lee gasped. Right, he and Naruto were the two idiots during the chunin exams who couldn't wait for their round three fights; if I recall, the rushed fight of Lee's against Gaara was the one that almost ended his career as a ninja for good.

Then there was Neji. The "cursed" one whose fate he could not decide of his own. For a genius, he really was an idiot. But he was strong, a powerful ally. Definitely not someone I would want as an enemy.

After a quick and less than tearful reunion, it was back to business. "Right," Gai said. "First, we need to decide what sort of seal is on that Boulder."

"Standard five seal," I replied, wasting no time. I had thoroughly analyzed the seal on the boulder as soon as we had hit the ground. Gai sent me a strange look, clearly wondering how I recognized and identified the seal.

Kakashi spoke up, giving orders. "So, all five need to be removed at the same time. We need to locate the other four," he said, "Neji?"

"Right," Neji replied, then activated his byakugan. I stared, watching the power before me as his eyes transformed and he rattled off the locations of each seal.

"Alright, team Gai is the fastest! We will handle this," Gai exclaimed enthusiastically, unzipping his bag. "I have headsets!"

"Smart thinking, Gai," Kakashi praised. "Alright, it's settled then. Report when you are at your assigned locations," Kakashi ordered before jumping onto the rock, ready to rip off the seal.

Everyone jumped out of sight. "Sakura, once we rip off the seal you need to break the rock," Kakashi informed.

"Got it," Sakura smirked, preparing to wind back her fist for when the time came. I shuddered at the thought of one of her punches landing on me. It could certainly break bones and rupture organs. Much like Naruto's rasengan, and I'd had the honors of feeling that one already.

What seemed like hours passed before the headset radio frequency sound resounded.

"Okay, on the count of three," Kakashi said, confirming to the rest of us that everyone had found their seal.

"One," Kakashi said.

"Two," Sakura winded her fist back once more to draw on extra power.

"Three!" Sakura surged forward and plunged her chakra covered fist into the Boulder. Large chunks of rock along with the small bits and pieces flew everywhere as the five of us moved instantly.

We jumped into the opening Sakura created. Everyone was to the right of me, making me the furthest into the cave. Kakashi was on my immediate right, stance prepared as he took in the scene. One blade was in my right hand, held loosely at my side. Ready to bite into the enemy.

There were two people were in front of us. Akatsuki. One stood. One sat upon a body.

Gaara was on the ground.

Naruto's eyes widened, disbelief shining in them. Sakura winced. Chiyo's frown deepened. Kakashi eye narrowed.

I just stared, eyes emotionless.

I hadn't wanted Gaara to die.

Kakashi's gaze shot towards me, and I realized that I had allowed the words to slip out of my mouth and into the air to fall against Kakashi ears. I had shown weakness.

I ignored him and his haunted, pathetically concerned gaze. We had a mission. And the mission took precedence over all else.

"So then..." The blonde drawled. Deidara. I knew of him. The other was a hunched over puppet- man. Sasori.

"I wonder which is the jinchuuriki."

Naruto growled, eyes shifting to an angry red. I observed the Akatsuki members. Deidara lounged upon Gaara's body, using his chest as a seat. His body language was relaxed, but I knew that they would be ready to fight in an instant. Launching an attack now wouldn't work; we needed to observe more. Learn more about our opponents.

"You bastards!" Naruto shouted in a sickening display of emotion. "I'm gonna fucking kill you!"

"The one who screams and charges first," Sasori murmured in reply. I shifted my gaze towards him. So they knew that Naruto was the jinchuuriki, now. A disadvantage on our side.

"You son of a bitch!" Naruto snarled. "Where the hell do you think you're sitting?!"

He leaped towards them, aiming a kunai in their direction.

A sharp flick of the puppeteer's metal made tail deflected the kunai, and the two Akatsuki members continued on with their conversation.

Idiot, I thought. He so blindly leapt into a fight without thought, driven by rage. He was going to get himself killed and then we would be a man down.

I stayed in my place though, continuing to observe the two Akatsuki. I trusted Kakashi to control Naruto's actions.

As I thought, Kakashi moved quickly, becoming a barrier between Naruto and our two opponents. "Don't be stupid Naruto, we have to think and plan before entering this fight, or we will lose and die," Kakashi lectured.

Naruto growled, "Return Gaara to us," he spoke to the enemy, who, interestingly enough, were arguing about the true definition of art.

From what I gathered, they were both smart. Deadly. And a standard five seal was too simple for them. There was a 92% chance, by my calculations, that Team Gai had more to deal with than just ripping off the seals. I also predicted that we wouldn't be receiving help from them anytime soon.

"I'm taking the jinchuriki," the blonde smirked.

The other one narrowed his slits for eyes at the blonde, remarking "Don't be selfish. We each get our own."

"But the Kyuubi is supposed to be powerful," the blonde complained before smiling deviously. "Besides, my art needs a challenge." And to make some sort of point to his comrade, he threw a white ball into the air.

"And true art is an explosion!"

_-—-—

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Insomniac_Lullabies


	25. Chapter Twenty Four - True Art

"Gaara!" Naruto screeched again. I closed my eyes for a split second. What an embarrassment. I could hardly stand to appear to be teammates with him. Stop telling Gaara to wake up. Stop telling him to stand up. Stop. Stop. Stop.

He was clearly dead.

Before I could snap at Naruto for his lack of control over his emotions, Kakashi did it for me. "Enough, Naruto!" Kakashi ordered harshly. "You should already know."

I stared at Naruto and wondered if he was truly so innocent, so naive, so idiotic as to think Gaara was merely sleeping, or if he knew the moment we stepped into the cave, as the rest of us did, that Gaara was dead.

"That's right," the blond one mocked. "He's been dead for a while." Deidara reached down, rapping lightly at Gaara's cheek. I didn't flinch. I had done worse to corpses.

Naruto attempted to sprint towards the enemy, but Kakashi stopped him. "If you charge in without thinking," he intoned, "we're all dead."

All? I think I could escape.

"The one on the left is the one who took the Kazekage," I murmured the information to Kakashi quickly. "His name is Deidara. He has a kekkai genkai; explosion release. He's a missing nin from Iwagakure. The one on the right is Sasori, a puppet master. He's responsible for the state Kankuro is in right now. But I think someone," my gaze cut over to Chiyo, "might know more about him than I."

"True art is eternal beauty!" Sasori snapped, pulling me from the conversation.

"Eternal beauty?" Deidara scoffed. "True art lasts only for a moment!"

Naruto threw a large shurikan, which is simply batted out of the air by the puppet tail. Sasori continued glaring at Deidara, not even sparing a glance for Naruto. "Are you deliberately trying to piss me off?" Sasori growled.

"That's why I said this would probably piss you off!" Deidara defended himself.

"You should know what happens when I get angry!"

I grew rigid at Sasori's words, grip tightening on my knife.

"Neither of you are correct," I finally spoke up, monotonous tone catching their attention. "True art is neither eternal nor instant. True art is an art that only you can appreciate, because only you can see it."

"Ehh?" Deidara called out. "What are you prattling on about?"

I transferred my dead gaze over to Deidara. This should throw them off: they seemed to truly care about art, so someone disagreeing with them would make them angrier, more susceptible to manipulation.

"True art," I continued. "Is painting a picture out of real life. It's manipulating a situation to meet your will and watching every single piece fall into place just as you planned, without others even realizing it. True art can only be seen by yourself."

Deidara and Sasori exchanged a glance. "At least we can agree that her definition of true art is wrong, hm?" Deidara smirked. "Besides... true art... is an explosion!"

He tossed a white ball into the air and made a handsign. It transformed into a familiar bird. The bird opened its mouth and made the most ridiculous noise; a high pitched, squeaky cry that almost made me snort. Instead, I maintained my straight face. The bird took Gaara into its mouth and Deidara jumped on, avoiding a strike from Sasori. "Later, master!" Deidara called mockingly.

Naruto would almost certainly run after Deidara. Chiyo would stay with Sasori. Sakura would probably stay with Chiyo: I'd seen the idolizing stares. Chiyo and Sakura could handle Sasori themselves. I'd go after Deidara with Naruto and most probably Kakashi. There would be no stopping Naruto now. Might as well help him take the course of action least likely to get him killed.

Deidara began to soar towards the opening. I sprinted up the rock face and kicked off towards the bird. Deidara dodged but I managed to land a hard hit onto the bird's wing. It cried out once more, and this time I didn't fight the smirk that came across my face. I landed on the water, watching the bird and it's awkward flight as Deidara repaired the wing.

"Wait, damn you!" Naruto shouted, sprinting from the cave. I squeezed the small amount of clay I'd managed to gouge from the bird, observing it.

"Naruto!" Kakashi shouted, then sprinted past me to join the chase. "Naruto and I will go with Cashile and take care of the one outside!" Kakashi informed Chiyo and Sakura. "Sakura, Chiyo, I'll leave this guy to you. Don't take unnecessary risks! Wait for team Gai to return!"

"Got it," Sakura nodded, adjusting her glove.

I squeezed the pliable clay once more, studying it. "Cashile?" Kakashi turned to me.

I pocketed the clay. I would make sure it was properly analyzed later. "We're losing ground," I responded. Kakashi nodded, and we both sprinted from the cave, after our reckless beast of a teammate.

I narrowed my eyes at Deidara once he was in my field of vision, hovering above us on his bird shaped animated lump of clay. I was never one for major use of chakra—it was just so messy—but his skill depended on his chakra entirely.

In other words, take away his chakra and his power was gone.

I noticed his eyes narrowing at myself and Kakashi in annoyance. Obviously he wanted Naruto, and he wanted to face him alone.

"Kakashi," I warned.

"Yeah, I see it," he immediately replied. "He's provoking Naruto. He wants the nine tails."

Deidara's eyes shifted once more to the cave before glancing back down at us. "My teammate is strong, stronger than me. Your kunoichi are done for," he bragged.

I raised my eyebrow at him while Kakashi nervously glanced back, hesitating to leave Sakura and Granny Chiyo to Sasori without any form of support.

"He's baiting you, Kakashi," I drawled. "Those two will be fine." And so what if they don't defeat Sasori? The real fight is here.

Sacrifice was a part of the game. We lose something to gain something. Common sense, rules, logic and all. Am I the only one that made sense to?

Probably.

"Gai?" Kakashi ignored me, channeling Gai through the headset.

"You're wasting your time. They aren't idiots to make breaking the seal so easy," I murmured. Kakashi sent me a glare as he realized I'd suspected there would be a trap on the seals and hadn't warned them.

If I had, Kakashi would have insisted we support one another, further slowing us. I couldn't afford to allow Kakashi to drag the mission down due to his guilt.

Those who abandon their teammates are worse than scum.

You're worse than scum, Kakashi.

"Bastard!" Red-eyed Naruto yelled, having again been so easily provoked by our opponent in the sky. I blinked, focusing on the present. He leaped towards Deidara, who only flew farther away, leading us away from the cave. "Give Gaara back!"

I sighed and leaped after Naruto. A tension rang still in the air for a moment before an explosion ripped through, knocking me slightly off guard. I glared at Deidara, who was getting further away. Explosions, of course. Did he have anything else up his sleeve?

"Art," he bragged, continuing to slide just out of our grasp. Naruto chased him past the logs while Kakashi and I stayed close behind.

"He isn't thinking rationally," Kakashi sighed.

"I have a plan," I replied. "This one is a long range fighter. None of us specifically specialize in that, so we need to slow him down. There are three of us and one of him. I'll run past you three and lie in wait for him to come to me."

Kakashi nodded. "I have the perfect weapon to slow him down. Hopefully you won't need to cross him at all, with what I have in mind."

Kakashi lifted his headband, revealing his left eye. He opened it, showing his sharingan—only it wasn't his normal sharingan eye. The pattern was different.

"A new technique?" I asked, interest piqued.

"Mangekyo sharingan, it's called," he replied.

"Are you sure that's the smartest idea? Remember the last time you overused your sharingan?" Were we not in the situation we were in, I would have snickered, remembering the Zabuza fight and how Kakashi had passed out in the aftermath.

"I've been practicing," Kakashi replied defensively.

"The Uchiha clan trains their children from birth to withstand the effects of using as much chakra as the sharingan requires," I taunted, raising an eyebrow.

"I didn't tell you my plan so you could argue with how skilled I am," Kakashi snapped. "I'll take the rear, go on ahead."

"Aye aye, captain," I muttered. "I'm leaving a clone behind. Don't let him discover it's a clone." Kakashi nodded as I did the necessary hand signs then dropped below the logs and picked up speed.

It wasn't far after that I heard the multiple explosions above me. I kept forward until I found a decent spot far enough from the three behind me. I chose the most advantageous spot with all angles of visual and lay in wait for my prey. Time ticked on as I tuned my hearing, listening for my queue.

"Rasengan!" Naruto shouted up ahead.

"Nice job, Naruto," Kakashi applauded. It seems he got Naruto to listen to his plan.

I was on the move and now had my opponent and two comrades in sight.

"Bastard!" Naruto yelled, continuing to punch Deidara's lights out. Looked like he had lost an arm, too... Another one.

Naruto and his clones dropped Deidara like a sack of potatoes and started clawing at the white beast that held Gaara.

Gaara...

I blocked the image of his dead body out of my head. The mission took precedence. There was nothing I could do. I jumped from the tree above, letting my foot rest on the ground near Deidara's head.

Revealing my twin swords, I grabbed Deidara's shirt and held his throat to my blade.

"Tell me about the Akatsuki," I demanded.

He smirked at me. He wasn't going to tell me anything of use. I could see it in his eyes.

"You think you could withstand the torture I would put you through to get the answers I want?" I questioned softly, allowing the blade to press into his throat, just shy of drawing blood.

"Torture? Konoha?" Deidara laughed, "right."

"Maybe not Konoha," I replied, "but what about The Rising Phoenix?"

For the first time, real fear entered his eyes.

"Do you believe me now?" I murmured. My blade nicked his neck.

No blood streams from the cut.

A snarl lifted my upper lip, baring teeth. A substitution. I scan the ground. He would be long gone, burrowing away under the earth.

In a sudden bout of uncharacteristic anger, I growl and stab the clone in the chest.

"Cashile!" Kakashi shouted from a tree branch above.

Instead of blood, Deidara's entire body turned to clay. I pressed my finger into the substance.

"We could have extracted information," Kakashi glared.

I shrugged my shoulders. "He was useless. A substitution."

"You couldn't have known that," Kakashi argued.

I gave him a pointed look in response.

"Gaara, answer me, please!" Naruto yelled in denial. An orange glow began wrapping around his body and I felt Kakashi tense instantly behind me.

"Can you take care of him?" I nodded towards Naruto and the chakra covering him.

"I have something that should work," he murmured, still staring at Naruto.

"Then I'm going to track Deidara," I inform.

"He's long gone," Kakashi replied. "Unless you suddenly developed the byakugan?"

I bark out a laugh. "Have some faith, Kakashi," I scoff. "I'm probably one of the best trackers in Konoha."

He narrows his eyes, considering me for a long moment. "Fine. But do not engage if you catch up, understood?"

"If you don't allow me to engage, there's a seventy two percent chance that he will manage to escape," I informed.

"I'm the team leader here," Kakashi replied, asserting his authority over me. "You will listen and obey my orders. Do not engage solo with an Akatsuki member."

Glaring, I give a sharp nod. "Fine. Take care of the nine tails."

I tilted my face up, focusing on the direction of the wind. Psychologically, he would be more inclined to escape north, the current direction of the wind which rustled the leaves and branches. Everyone liked the wind on their back.

As Naruto's shadow clones started wailing in pain, I leapt onto the nearest tree branch in the direction of north. I bit my thumb, drawing blood with ease. "Summoning jutsu," I murmered after making the appropriate hand signs.

Dozens of miniature spiders appeared at once, as I had summoned them to. "The target is bleeding. You'll be able to smell the scent of his blood. The general direction should be north. Five of you separate east, south and west of here for safety measures, in case my predictions turn out to be inaccurate. Report back immediately upon locating the target."

"Yesss," dozens hissed, dispersing speedily. The ones that could used the wind to their advantage, creating silk strands to cling to as they floated with the wind.

Within seconds, the spiders which had been sent north were scurrying back. "The target isn't far, just up ahead. He is hiding within the tall grasses," one of them communicated in a raspy voice.

"Well done," I nodded, giving them permission to return to their home, Yami no Pitto.

I jumped in the direction I was verbally directed to. Sure enough, the Akatsuki member was kneeling in the grass, spying on Naruto and Kakashi.

So he wasn't far away after all.

I released my twin blades from my sleeves, making sure there was no noise as I prepared myself. I slink to a close branch. Breathe in, breathe out. Target shifts slightly. Circle downwind in response. Breathe in, breathe out. Lean forward. Forward. Forward, until gravity and balance fight for control and gravity wins. Don't even push off the branch; it would rustle or snap or move and the target would be alerted.

Blades in hand, falling through the air, I am the deadliest shinobi in a this forest. This, I think, is true art.

I hold Deidara's life in my hands, and I'm not feeling generous.

Heyyy.

I know it's been super long since the last update. Please don't hate us XD we've been super duper busy.

Good news is we're already working on the next chapter and have a lot planned! So comment super long super inspiring comments to help us work faster!

Also, happy belated birthday to MyDeathLolipop ! We tried to get this out in time for your birthday but I'm on a college tour and supes is like, IN college now (haha ur so old supes).

So yeah, happy birthday!

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Insomniac_Lullabies


	26. Chapter Twenty Five - Resurrection

Before the blow could land, I was repelled by a heavy force.

"Eight trigrams; airpalm!"

The action was instant. In front of me stood Team Gai. The force that had knocked me back must have been the Hyuuga's technique.

I took in their faces from where I was kneeling on the ground, blade dug into the earth to counteract the force of the airpalm. Neji was assessing me silently; Tenten looked terrified; Lee was clueless (always giving people the benefit of the doubt, that one); Gai stared at me warily, clearly ready for anything. I wonder if he was thoroughly informed about my situation.

His hand tightened on the kunai; he was.

My calculating gaze finally landed on Deidara. He was staring at me with just a hint a wary fear and surprise, though he never lost the smirk. He hadn't seen me. He hadn't expected me. I would have succeeded if it hadn't been for...

I turned my stare back to Team Gai, and this time a glare replaced my calculating look. Deidara's chances of escape just rose considerably because of them.

"Good work, Neji," Gai congratulated, eyes never leaving Deidara and me.

Neji simply nodded, at the ready for anything and everything. "Ah, the Byakugan," Deidara smirked. "So that's how your team approached me from my blind spot." He sent a brief, agitated glance over his shoulder towards me, clearly hating having me at his back but unwilling to turn away from a full team of shinobi. He settled for turning sideways so he was facing neither of us, but his back wasn't to either of us. "I'd like to see how the byakugan differs from Itachi's sharingan."

I twirled the blade in my right hand once and everyone tensed, prepared for sudden action as though I was some sort of wild animal that could be set off at the slightest provocation.

"But I think escaping from this situation comes first now," Deidara continued. I didn't understand why Gai's team just sat there, allowing him to ramble on instead of engaging. But I couldn't make my move without being 100% sure of how they would react.

"Heh," Gai scoffed, "now that team Gai, the strongest in all the Leaf is here... you can't escape!"

I narrowed my eyes. If he'd allowed my strike to land, Deidara would never even had a fighting chance to escape.

"Exactly!" Lee agreed with Gai.

"Prepare yourself!" Tenten exclaimed. And why the hell would you order the enemy to prepare, or give him time to? Neji, the only one who seems even slightly sane, did nothing but tense slightly, ready to explode into action.

Deidara's smirk deepened, and then he exploded off of the ground. Team Gai followed him into the air. Their first mistake: never let the enemy choose the fighting grounds. It would be easier to defeat him pinned here on the ground, and yet they allowed him to take to the trees. And now he even had a kunai in his mouth!

I watched the fight closely, studying Deidara's fighting style. He was entirely on the defensive, which was to be expected. If I joined the fight now I would simply interrupt Team Gai's dynamics; I would get in their way, and they would get in my way. Best to wait for the opportune moment to strike.

Deidara seemed more amused by Tenten's weapons than anything. He could only be a few years older than her, and yet he was in an entirely different league. The only two who seemed to truly bother him were Neji and Gai.

Escaping by foot would be impossible for him with these four on him, and soon enough Deidara would realize the same thing. Neji managed to land a hit with his airpalm, but I was already moving away. Deidara would realize that escape by foot was impossible, so...

There! I spotted the white bird and sprung into a tree by it, falling completely still. He would come. I knew he would. I had predicted it to be so, and the pieces would soon be falling into place.

True art.

I finally spotted movement in the trees. Deidara sprang down and Team Gai followed, keeping their distance and allowing Deidara to make whatever move he wanted to. What the hell was wrong with them? They needed to attack, not sit back and let Deidara do whatever he pleased!

Sure, you might lose a teammate more often, but the success of missions skyrockets when you're not scared of a teammate losing their life.

Deidara chewed the clay and swallowed and I was already falling through the air for the second time that day as his body began to distort. No one saw me, a shadow in a shadow as I unsheathed my blades, which had been hidden until the last possible moment lest the gleam of metal gave me away.

I hit his body, one blade pushing into his neck and severing his spinal cord and the other piercing his heart. Everyone was staring in shock, trying to process what had just happened and I was already springing away, blades slipping back into their places as I sprinted from Deidara. His body was still distorting even though he should be dead, and considering how his tricks usually ended, everything was about to get incredibly messy, incredibly quickly.

Neji caught on a split second later, shouting out a warning to everyone. By then I'm already twenty yards past them, hurtling away from what will soon be the blast zone. I felt the ground rock and heard the explosion but didn't bother looking back; it would just slow me down. Team Gai wouldn't make it at the speed they were going: they'd begun their escape too late. It would be a close call for even me, and I was already flying past Kakashi and Sakura and Naruto and Chiyo and Gaara's corpse that I was notlookingatnotthinkingabout.

And then, suddenly, the explosion was simply... gone.

I stared at the hole in the air that was sucking away the remnants of the explosion until that too disappeared. So that was Kakashi's new technique. For a long moment there's only the sound of Kakashi's labored breathing. Then he made a pained grunt and began to fall over from his place on the ground.

I appeared and rammed my knee into his side, keeping him in a vaguely upright position. "Just like old times, Kakashi," I drawled, thinking back to the Zabuza fight.

Kakashi simply glared, and a moment later Naruto appeared, taking Kakashi by his shoulders. "You okay, Kakashi sensei?" he asked.

"What in the world did you do?" Sakura questioned.

"Looks to me as though he transported the explosion to somewhere else," I shrugged.

"Into another dimension," Kakashi clarified between pained pants. Even I had to raise an impressed eyebrow at that.

"I don't really get what happened," Lee admitted, "but the enemy is defeated, right, Tenten?"

"Hey! Don't ask me that."

Huh. So even she recognized her own inability to understand the situation.

"More importantly... is everyone okay?" Kakashi asked. More importantly? How could that be more important than whether or not the enemy had been defeated?

Especially when I was almost entirely certain that Deidara hadn't been defeated?

My assassination should end any technique: it killed the victim almost immediately and also cut off vital chakra pathways for techniques that were meant to continue after death. The only possible way that the explosion continued was either that the technique was already too far along to stop or that the victim of my assassination was simply a clone.

I leaned towards the latter.

Deidara had been beaten today, but certainly not defeated.

***...*.*.*

The somber moment had arrived.

Sakura shook her head slowly, removing her hands from Gaara's corpse. Autolysis would have already begun, his cells acidity increasing as they became deprived of oxygen. His organs and cells had already begun to break down. Soon his skin would begin to discolor as blood leaked from broken vessels and settled into small capillaries with the aid of gravity.

"Gaara," Naruto's voice was shards of glass, broken and sharp and tearing through the air. His tears flowed openly, repulsively, from his eyes. For some reason I didn't believe he would appreciate it if I voiced my information.

"Naruto—"

"No!" Naruto whirled, tears falling in spinning droplets from blazing eyes. "None of you understood him, none of you!"

Over he course of the time I've known him, even with my recent years being gone, I'd come to expect exactly this sort of thing from Naruto: irrational, overly emotional behavior.

So this didn't come as a surprise to me. It also didn't come as a huge annoyance to me, which did startle me a bit. I suppose it was useless, being irritated by Naruto's behavior; it was a part of who he was. But that didn't mean I had to be understanding of it, especially when it was putting us in danger.

"We have to move on," I said casually, but in a slightly toned down voice so there was less of a chance of Naruto going on a rant about me not caring that Gaara was defeated, dead, decaying, departed.

No one reacted to my words. I glance around; not a single person would look at me. I consider repeating myself, but then decide not too. There was no way they didn't hear me. Speaking again would only put me in their bad graces.

"What right do you have?" Naruto asks, the shards of glass shattering further. "What right do you have label us. Jimchuuriki is just some name you people made up to slap on us."

My face is stone to Naruto's shattered glass. There was nothing left to do; Gaara was dead. He had been dead for a while, his body's cells already breaking down just as he'd been broken.

"Why is it always Gaara?" Naruto whispered. I found myself wondering the same.

"Control yourself, Naruto Uzumaki," Chiyo murmured.

"Shut up!" Naruto shouted, the shards of glass now cutting through the air, cutting through Chiyo and actually forcing her to take a half step back from the pain on display. "Its because of you people this happened! You had to go and stick a monster in him and it's not fair! He just became the Kazekage. It's not fair."

Naruto shifts from side to side as though he didn't quite know what to do with his feet. The tears are truly pouring from his face now. I want to tell him to calm down, to shut up, to move on, but he'd made it clear that this... This tantrum, this mourning, was not to be interrupted lest it go on for far longer. He tilts his head sideways, then raises his head as though in an attempt to contain the tears and then simply lowers it, shoulders shaking in grief.

All lives end. All hearts are broken. Caring was not an advantage.

Then there's a movement as Chiyo takes a slow, staggering step forward.

"What are you doing?" Naruto questioned aggressively, when she rested near Gaara's body, a green glow illuminating from her hands.

Sakura's dramatic gasp was all it took to figure it out.

Gaara would not be the dead body we would be returning home with.

Somehow, Granny Chiyo was giving life to Gaara again, and it didn't take much to figure out that the cost of one life is only worth the cost of another. Confusion welled inside of me. All these years, all this time had gone by. And I still didn't understand human behavior in the oddest moments, like right now. Why would you sacrifice your life for another's?

I suppose it sort of made sense: Granny Chiyo was on her death bed, it wasn't hard to see. She was old, had only a few years left in her to live. And Gaara was the precious Kazekage of the sand village. Young, strong, vital to the Village Hidden in the Sand. Of course Chiyo would give her life for his if she were able too, like a good little self sacrificing shinobi.

Chiyo makes a strange whimpering grunt as her chakra begins to deplete. Keep your weakness to yourself, old woman. Naruto walks forward and kneels beside Gaara, hands held out in an offering. I wonder, if we all offered chakra, would this jutsu still take a life in exchange for a life? Probably. Otherwise it was too damn convenient of a jutsu.

Someone lands beside me and my blades are out, one at the persons throat and the other held defensively as more and more shinobi appear around us. I slowly lower my weapon. Sand shinobi. Couldn't have shown up twenty minutes ago to help out, could you have?

And then Gaara was sitting up and he'salivehe'salivehe'salive and his eyes were wide and shocked and Naruto's hand was on his shoulder and he was alive. Chiyo was slumped over, Sakura supporting her and shaking with her own tears, now. What was the use of crying? She made her choice, and it wasn't in vain.

"Naruto," Gaara whispered, eyes wide. His eyes landed on me next. "Cashile Kuroki."

And then his eyes slipped from me and I can breathe again. He scanned all the shinobi surrounding us, the shock in his eyes only growing. "This is..." He breathed.

"Everyone came running to help you," Naruto smiled.

"Lord Gaara!" A girl shouted, running up. I took a step to the side so she doesn't run into me. Irritating little genin. Show some self control. "Are you alright?" She asked desperately.

I turned to Gaara as well, curious about the after effects of being dead. I would think that the jutsu Chiyo had done would take care of any damage.

Gaara nodded slowly, looking as though he couldn't quite process what was happening. Cheers sprang up all around us at his confirmation. People began crying, though I couldn't understand why. He said he was okay. Maybe they hadn't wanted to see him dead.

"Thank God Lord Gaara's alright," one of the sobbing shinobi choked out.

Okay. They didn't want to see him dead. Maybe they were simply insane.

Gaara attempted to stand but grimaces in pain. So maybe Chiyo's jutsu didn't heal all of the damage.

"She got tired out, so she's sleeping right now," Naruto was saying. I closed my eyes for a brief moment. He always managed to see me with his stupidity. Thankfully, Kankuro was there to correct Naruto before he could make a bigger fool out of himself.

Gaara began to stand, brushing away the girl's help. He's weak, though, and begins to fall forward. But Naruto was there to catch him.

"Everyone, let us pray for Granny Chiyo," Gaara murmurs.

Everyone's eyes around me began to close and I studied them closely. I couldn't bring myself to close my eyes, surrounded by ninja who could have harmful intent. It was like the start of a bad joke: a bunch of ninja stand in the middle of a field. They all have there eyes closed for some damn reason.

When Naruto opened his eyes with the rest of the shinobi they land immediately on me, and narrowed into a glare when he saw my eyes had been open.

But he doesn't say anything. Instead, with Chiyo in Lee's arms, and Kakashi on Gai's back, we headed back to the Sand Village.

...-.-.-.-.-.***

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Despite the fact Supes and I had to stay up late preparing for her college chem class we got this done quick! (If any of you are taking chem I feel your pain. I took AP chem last year and dieeeeed).

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Insomniac_Lullabies


	27. Chapter Twenty Six - Let Go

What seemed like the entire village came out to greet us.

They parted ways, creating an aisle for us to walk through, and I tensed, hating being surrounded on all sides-but forced myself to walk forward normally, trying to hide my discomfort. Gaara glanced at me out of the corner of his eye but said nothing.

I made certain to not show my gratefulness, but he somehow seemed to still receive the message.

He smiled.

***...*.*.

"You're leaving already?"

I stood with Naruto and Sakura just outside of the village walls, holding all my possessions. Gaara and his siblings stood before us. He was wearing the Kazekage robes, and I had to admit that they somehow looked... Right, on him. You could see just how much being the Kazekage meant to him.

"We have more missions to complete, dattebayo," Naruto said. "But the next time we meet, I'll be Hokage!"

Gaara gave a slight smile at that and nodded, clearly believing in Naruto's word. Then he turned his gaze, sea foam eyes of the Kazekage pinning me in place.

"Where's your team?" he questioned.

I shrugged. "I sent them back to Konoha. Didn't want them getting in the way."

A faint smile touched Gaara's lips. "I'm certain they were thrilled with that," he murmured.

I shrugged again, ignoring the hint of a smirk tugging at the corner of my lip as I thought of their irritated reactions when I returned. "I don't care if they were or not, as long as they did what I said."

Gaara gazed at me for a long time, a look in his eyes I couldn't quite place. Finally he spoke. "I wish you well, Cashile Kuroki," he said softly, nodding. "I am certain your genin will grow into fine shinobi."

I nodded, acknowledging the compliment.

"If she doesn't kill them first," Naruto muttered, but there was a teasing gleam in his eyes as he said it. He had heard of how I'd taken the hit for Aisa, and it had certainly softened his view of me when it came to my team.

"Shut up, baka," Sakura ordered, slapping the back of his head.

Gaara watched on in amusement before jumping in. "My appreciation extends to all of you. You will always be welcome in the Village Hidden in the Sand." He looked into each of our eyes, finally landing back on me with that same sad, hopeful look that I couldn't grasp. "All of you."

I nodded to show my appreciation of his acknowledgement, and also noting that unlimited access in those territories would be very useful. Ultimately, the Kazekage was in my debt.

This mission had proved to be very useful indeed, and would surely facilitate in my quest to obliterate the Rising Phoenix.

***...*.*.

Kakashi and I stood in the Hokage's office, reporting our individual and conjoined team missions.

"... and then I sent my team back with the remaining ANBU and a sand support unit." I finished.

"Well done, both of you. Two missions completed successfully. I will discuss further on the concerning matter of the Akatsuki—"

"Actually," Kakashi said, "there is one more thing I'd like to discuss."

Tsunade waved a tired hand. "Go ahead, then," she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in order to ward off the inevitable headache.

"I believe that Cashile Kuroki should only be assigned missions with her genin team; C ranked missions or lower," Kakashi informed the Hokage.

My head snapped around fast enough to give me whiplash. "What?" I asked incredulously.

"Kuroki—" and was that supposed to hurt, him referring to me by last name? Nice try. "Killed an enemy that we could have captured and questioned for information. She disregarded my order to not engage with a member of the Akatsuki on her own, and Gai reported that it appeared as though she was attempting to assassinate the member after I berated her the first time. Throughout the mission I remained concerned about her emotional stability and control she had over her actions."

Tsunade transferred her gaze to me. "Is this—"

I rolled my eyes. "It was a clone, Kakashi. Besides, I wasn't going to kill Deidara no matter what Gai said; just seriously injure or maim him. If he'd let me do it then we could've captured Deidara rather than have to try and escape a huge explosion. You could have avoided- I mean look at you."

Kakashi's stance was weary, unable to stand straight. Exhaustion clearly tugged at every corner, and heavy signs of fatigue showed throughout. It was probably a miracle that he was standing here, in the hokage's office, rather than laying in a hospital bed- and much less arguing with me.

"You'll be in the hospital at the end of the day as opposed to a member of the Akatsuki. And you can be as concerned about me as you want, but that doesn't mean my control is about to snap."

"I—" Tsunade began, only to be interrupted by Kakashi.

"So you admit you have strenuous control over your actions?"

I made an irritated noise in the back of my throat. "I said nothing about strenuous—"

"But it is!" Kakashi insisted persistently. "I've seen, I know—"

I rolled my eyes, sharp and bitter and angry. "Well, of course you would think that you know so much—"

"Silence!" Tsunade snapped, clearly fed up with our argument. Her tone was sharp and cold and demanded nothing short of instant obedience.

The effect was instantaneous.

My knees hit the ground, hands following soon after. With a thud, my head slammed into the floor, framed by my hands as I pressed my face into the ground and waited for what was to come.

Would She be pleased with my performance? Or would She be disappointed and find a mistake in the mission? My breath caught in my throat; an unforgivable display of emotion. For that alone She would punish me. What would it be? Run laps until I pass out? The dogs? A lashing? The cold—

"Cashile?"

My breathing was as shallow as I could make it and still draw air. Cashile. Who was Cashile?

"Cashile?" The unknown man's voice came closer, and I vaguely wondered if he would be the one to carry out my punishment.

I am Cashile.

The thought shocked through my mind in an instant. She wouldn't be happy about this; about me remembering who I was. I was certainly about to be punished—

But I'd escaped.

I breathed in and out slowly. I'd escaped. She couldn't be here. I couldn't be there.

"Cashile?"

Kakashi. He was here. He had never been there. Ergo, I wasn't there.

I took a deep breath. This place smelled nothing of there. It was warmer here. There were happy voices drifting up from the street below.

The street below. Konoha.

"Cashile, can you hear me?"

Kakashi. Worried voice. Right. I was in the Hokage's office. I was reporting about the mission. Arguing with Kakashi.

I stood slowly. Eyes followed me closely. I had shown weakness in front of them. Displays of such weakness would not gain me power. It just revealed the lack of control I held. It revealed how little power I had at the moment.

If Kakashi said a single fucking thing, I think I would maybe murder him.

Instead, he looked at me with such extreme sorrow that I thought he just might start crying. "Maybe—" his voice broke, and he swallowed loudly, painfully, as though it was shards of glass going down his throat and not saliva. "Maybe we should continue the mission report tomorrow it was a... It was a long mission."

Tsunade considered us for a long, long moment. "Very well," she conceded. "Tomorrow, then. First thing. Dismissed." Her voice was far, far more gentle than it normally would be. I ignored the way my throat tightens, bowed, and exited the door. Kakashi snagged my upper arm before I could disappear.

"Cashile—"

"Let go, Kakashi."

His hand remained on my arms. "Cashile—"

"Let. Me. Go." I wouldn't even look at him but he must have realized that I was half a second away from either breaking his arm or stabbing him in the chest.

"Let me go."

He released my arm.

I disappeared.

***...*.*.

"That'll be the last time I go out of my way to help Kakashi with a mission," I grumbled to myself angrily.

He had no right.

My breath came harsh and fast, and it took me several seconds to reassert total control. There was no real reason to be angry. Logic spoke that Tsunade wouldn't listen to Kakashi's "advice". She may be a bit wary of me, but hasn't she always been? I was too great of a resource, in the end, to not use. But Kakashi was proving to be more irritating than I previously expected.

I walked into the ANBU training complex without an invite, causing heads to be whipped alertly in my direction. Honestly, they shouldn't be so jumpy: I would have been stopped if I wasn't supposed to be in there. I waved my hand at the wary individuals regarding me. "It's just me," I informed poorly, before shoving my hands back into my long trench coat.

It was about time to see the results of Ibiki's training on my team. I walked into Ibiki's preferred training grounds, and blinked at what I saw.

And blinked again.

I think my brain was short-circuiting.

Ibiki had a vicious smirk on his face that wasn't at all out of place. What was out of place, however, was the three giggling genin.

Giggling. With Ibiki.

I stalked into view. "I thought I sent them you to be trained," I snapped. And to annoy you, I thought, but left unspoken.

"Cashile-sensei!" Aisa exclaimed, "You're back!"

"Obviously," I rolled my eyes, fending off his hug with one hand. He didn't seem at all put off, instead taking a step back, an innocent look sliding into place.

"Is it true that Ibiki-san pushed you off a waterfall once?" Aisa asked angelically.

Emotion slid from my face as my dark eyes pinned Ibiki in place. "You didn't."

His smirk spoke more than his words ever would.

"Is it true," Michiko giggled, "that once Ibiki-senpai was beating you up so badly that ANBU had to pull him away from you?"

Of course she would find that funny, the sadistic little shit.

"Did you really get sent back to the medic five minutes after leaving, once?" Kento questioned.

Wow. It was like these kids wanted to be punished.

I slowly allowed at bloodthirsty smile to spread across my face. "Why?" I asked, squinting my eyes into the smile. "Were you guys hoping to get the same treatment?"

They practically fell over themselves to assure me otherwise.

"So. How did you train them, other than telling stories?" I asked Ibiki. "In fact, how did they manage to find you?"

"Quite the story, actually," Ibiki replied. "Apparently they treated it like a mission. They were interrogating people and trying to track me. Eventually they ran into Anko while they were taking a dango break, and you can imagine how she reacted to a bunch of wide eyed, gullible genin. Apparently she led them on quite the wild goose chase—"

"This is starting to sound like it could devolve into a cute but ultimately meaningless filler just to get you to say more words and take up more time," I interrupted, shaking my head. "So I'm going to cut you off right there."

"Kind of reminds me of that time Team Seven tried to find out what was under Kakashi's mask—" Ibiki said thoughtfully.

"Anyhow," I interrupted again, "Team Ten, with me."

The genin sprang to my side, trooping after me as we left the compound. "We actually did do training," Aisa hurried to reassure me. "In fact, we already did a lot today—"

"Don't worry," I responded boredly. "I believe you, and it's too late to put you through another training session. Team Ten, you're dismissed. Report to the south bridge tomorrow at six sharp."

"Hai!" All three exclaimed before Kento and Michiko hurried in opposite directions. Aisa remained.

I raised an eyebrow towards him. "Yes?"

Aisa scuffed a shoe at the ground and I internally grimaced at the obvious display of emotion. He was young, yes, but he really ought to be a little harder to read. "Um, well, I told Aiden about the mission, and he was worried, so I said that as soon as you came back I would make sure you went and said hi, and I don't want to let him down, so could you...?"

"If you didn't want to let him down, you shouldn't have promised something you had no control over," I reprimanded.

Aisa's lower lip trembled. "I-I know," he mumbled. "But Aiden's always working so hard so I just wanted to help somehow, so I just... I just wanted to help, and—"

I sighed. "Fine, kid. But I get to use your food to make myself some dinner."

All signs of sorrow, embarrassment, and general worry disappeared in favor of a blinding, triumphant smile. "Awesome!" Aisa exclaimed gleefully, snatching at my hand to drag me along. "Thanks, Cashile!"

I blinked. Had Aisa... Had Aisa just.. tricked me? Fooled me? Deceived me? Had Aisa just played me? Despite everything, a slow smile crept across my face.

They do grow up fast.

Heyyy.

WE UPDATED. Sorta quickly too.

But my school starts tuesday and I have SO MUCH SUMMER HOMEWORK to do so don't expect an update super quick.

That being said, COMMENT SO I HAVE INSPIRATION TO WRITE DESPITE BEING BUSY WITH SCHOOL AND SHIT.

Basically, please please please please please please please please take the time to comment super long super inspirational comments.

If writing out thoughtful longer than "Good! Update!" comments takes too much time, think on this: think how much time and effort it takes to write these chapters (which we try to make at least 2000 words). In other words THANK YOU SO MUCH TO PEOPLE WHO COMMENT AMAZING COMMENTS THEY MAKE US HAPPY AND THEY ROCK AND PLEASE KEEP IT UPPPPPPPP

okay maybe my procrastination induced panic is starting to show through here. Time to go work on homework.

Comment! Bai!

gaara119

HEY GUYS!

So college started last week AND IM ALREADY DROWNING SO HELP ME BY WRITING NICE AND DEEP AND INSPIRATIONAL THINGS.

Thank youuuuu in advance.

So, what do you predict will happen in the next chapters? First arc of shippuden DONE!

Comment! Vote!

And wish me luck haha...

-S

Comment, Vote, and Fan!

Ja ne!

Insomniac_Lullabies


	28. Chapter Twenth Seven - Panic

"Cashile," Aiden greeted with a soft smile. He opened the door wider in invitation and Aisa tugged my hand, dragging me inside of my apartment.

"Aiden—" suddenly I was crushed in a hug, full of expression that I couldn't seem to read.

"Thank you," Aiden whispered fervently, voice choked, embracing me tightly.

I stiffened at first, and then relaxed. Right. Saving Aisa's life. Aisa must have told him about what happened. And now Aiden owed me even more. Good.

Aiden's hands tightened around my shoulders as he inspected me closely. "How are you? How are your wounds? Does anything hurt? I can run to the store to get you some medicine, some food, anything?"

I raised my eyebrows at his desperation to wait on me hand and foot. Of course he'd feel grateful to me, and guilty that his brother's actions almost had me killed. I shook his hands off and rolled my eyes. "I'm fine, Aiden. If I wasn't, this would be the last place I'd be," I responded smartly.

"Sit down," he continued stubbornly, eyebrows still furrowed in worry. "I'll make you some tea."

And who could refuse tea?

I let him lead me to the leather sofa, my sofa, and settled comfortably in it. Maybe, seeing as Aiden was clearly refusing to leave my apartment, I would steal this couch. I really did enjoy it.

"How was the rest of your mission?" He asked, heating up the tea water in a kettle.

"Could have gone better," I admitted, letting my shoulders slump a little. My eyes drooped slightly, showing how tired I really was. "But could have been worse."

He poured in a little milk before the tea, just how I always did, then handed me the cup with the bag still submerged in the sweetened water. He laid a hand on my shoulder. "We can talk more tomorrow. You should get some rest."

"I claim your fridge as my own for breakfast," I replied as way of agreement. It only made sense to stay here: it was late, there was fresh food, and it was my apartment.

"Sure," Aiden laughed, pushing Aisa into his room. "Whatever you want."

I smile at that. Because it showed how open he was to manipulation.

I curled up onto one side of the couch, listening as Aiden forced Aisa to brush his teeth and brush his hair and put on pajamas before tucking him in. I burrowed deeper into the couch, throwing away an uncomfortable decorative pillow that I had no memory of ever buying. They were just so... Domestic.

Aiden returned from Aisa's room, gathering up a book and his reading glasses before settling into the other side of the couch. A soft light came from a lamp beside him.

"Does the light bother you?" He asked quietly.

I studied his profile in the golden light, shadows softening normally sharp edges. "What book are you reading?" I asked instead.

"The Winter's Tale," he responded.

"Still on that Shakespeare marathon, huh?" I mumbled, turning my head back into the couch. "'Though I am not naturally honest, I am sometimes so by chance.'"

Aiden gave a soft laugh. "Goodnight," he murmured, shaking his head with a fond smile.

"What's your quote, then?" I pushed.

Aiden stared at me for a long moment with unreadable dark eyes. Then, finally, "'O, she's warm!; If this be magic, let it be an art; Lawful as eating.'"

"You've already read the ending," I accused. "When she comes back to life."

He shook his head again and smiles. "I'm almost finished. Goodnight, Cashile."

I slept.

***...*.*.

When I woke at 2:37 in the morning, I couldn't breathe.

I was pressed into the corner of the couch, shivering violently. Aiden was sleeping on the other end, sprawled out, completely comfortable and asleep. My knees were drawn to my burning chest, my muscles were taut and panic was clouding my mind because something was coming, something was coming and I needed to be ready to fight or run or get away and I couldn't breathe.

I was freezing cold but the blankets and pillows and long trench coat were just too constricting so I ripped them all away, threw them to the floor and shivered in the corner and tried to calm my racing heart and panicked breaths.

There's no reason to be panicked. I couldn't understand why I was so terrified; there was no threat, no enemy, and fear gave you no advantage in a fight. So why couldn't I control this, push it down, and ignore it?

My eyes were open but I wasn't seeing anything and I couldn't breathe I couldn't breathe I couldn't breathe I was going to die I couldn't breathe—

"Cashile?"

Aiden's voice registered dimly, but I wouldn'tshouldn'tcouldn't respond. I brushed at my arms, desperately trying to wipe something away and discover a way to breathe.

Aiden was truly awake now; no more of the stirring, half open eyes, and muffled voice. He'd realized that something was wrong and I couldn't truly process anything that was going on around me because I was terrified.

Suddenly, someone's hand was on my shoulder, and I instinctually grabbed the offending appendage and twisted.

There was a cry of pain and the hand was snatched back away from me. The sliver of control I felt I had disappeared with it and I clawed at my chest, trying to catch my breath. "Cashile!" Someone was saying a name, frantic and worried and desperate. "Cashile, what's wrong? What's wrong?!"

I had no idea where I was due to the panic and that just made the panic worse and I had no idea if the voice belonged to someone who could help me but all the same I gasped out, "Can't breathe!"

"Aiden? Cashile?"

There was someone new in the room and my panic increased because now I was outnumbered.

The atmosphere grew more tense as someone snapped, "Go to bed, Aisa!" There was a long pause, then the sound of pattering feet as the newcomer ran away, ran away from the room and the panic and me.

I had no idea how much time had passed, but it felt like hours. I realized suddenly that I was babbling words under my breath and stopped talking. The only sound was my harsh breathing and the pounding of my heart in my ears.

"Cashile?" The voice was hesitant and soft and worried and everything that my panicked thoughts were not. "Cashile, I'm still here. It'll be alright. It's okay. I'm still here."

I opened my eyes (when had I closed them?) and focused on the face of the boy in front of me. His cheeks were shiny with tears but his voice was firm and kind. My breathing was still harsh and my heart was still racing and the fear was still there but I was a little more grounded.

"Still here, Cashile," Aiden said softly, and instead of the shallow panicked pants a huge, shuddering sigh ripped from my lungs. "That's good," Aiden murmured. "Deep breaths. Deep breaths."

"I can't—"

I cut myself off with another huge breath. Aiden nodded encouragingly. "Good, good," he praised and it sort of made me want to hit him. Instead I bowed my head into my knees and focused on breathing.

"What do you need, Cashile?" Aiden asked. "What can I do to help?"

I couldn't respond so I didn't, simply focusing on the air rattling in my lungs. The weight suddenly disappeared from the couch and I made a small noise of protest in the back of my throat.

"I'm just going to go make some tea," Aiden reassured me. Face still buried in my knees, I shook my head. I couldn't handle him leaving right now; I needed some sort of presence to ground me.

"Okay," Aiden agreed, sitting back down. "Whatever you need, Cashile."

I breathed slowly, hearing but not listening to Aiden's constant stream of words. Bringing my breathing back under control was a harder task then I had ever imagined, but I managed slowly.

"Cashile?" I snapped to attention when I heard my name. "I'm going to touch you, now, if that's okay? I'm going to touch your shoulder."

I nodded my consent but his touch is fire and I couldn't help but flinch away. He removed his hand immediately. "Okay, okay. Not yet, then. Can I get you a drink? Water? Are you too warm—"

"Cold," I rasped in reply.

Aiden froze and then he was all flurried motion. "Ah, shit, shit; I left the window open. Shit, I'm sorry, Cashile, it gets so warm and stuffy during the day so I opened a window and I forgot how cold it gets at night."

The window snapped shut, but Aiden was still moving around, gathering materials. "Here, I'm going to put a blanket on you," he warned.

"No!" I exclaimed. Aiden stopped, surprised, and I had to take a few long moments to bring my hard fought breath back under control. My head remained buried in my knees. "I... It's too constricting. I wouldn't... I wouldn't be able to move, to escape."

"Okay," Aiden agreed. "Okay. I'll just, um, sit here, then."

I nodded again, and took in a deep breath. I noticed that the sink is dripping. Normally it would irritate me. Now it helped.

Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip.

In. Out. In. Out.

My breaths evened. My heartbeat slowed. I reached out blindly and found Aiden's elbow. I held on to the fabric of his shirt there, allowing his steady presence to pull me back into reality.

Aiden made an aborted movement and I realized that he wanted to help me but was scared of throwing me back into a panic. I nodded shortly, and he let out a slow breath, large hand loosely circling my wrist. His grip was gentle, unrestraining, easily breakable. The breath I had been holding shudders out of me.

"Cashile?" Aiden murmured questioningly.

"I'm here," I replied softly. "I'm still here."

***...*.*.

My eyes flitted open as a steady stream of disarrayed light lit through the window.

Memories of last night immediately crossed my mind as I glanced at the half filled cup of tea next to my sleeping space. Then my eyes lowered to the floor, where Aiden laid quietly, breath even and nearly silent; the sleep of someone who was used to hiding, used to needing to awaken in a split second to defend himself and his family.

A blanket was wrapped around my legs, hugging me tightly and protecting me from the cold. Aiden must have draped it over me once I'd finally fallen back asleep. I removed the blanket, now feeling warm from the sun. Aiden stirred at my movement.

"Cashile?" He murmured groggily. "Did you push me off of the couch?"

"I'll make breakfast," I replied, dodging the question.

Aiden stumbled in soon after, watching as I made rice and fish for breakfast. His hands fumbled with the tea kettle, still half asleep as he started to heat the water.

"Have you seen a doctor?" He asked.

I furrowed my eyebrows at him. "We had this conversation last night," I reminded him. "I'm not injured. If I was, I wouldn't be here."

"Not for that," he shook his head. "But for... Y'know."

I had indeed figured out what he getting at. But I wasn't going to help him out any. He could say it himself if he was that concerned. "No. I don't know."

He looked distinctly uncomfortable, and I reeled in a sigh just before it could escape. "You remember last night, don't you?" He mumbled, twisting the teacup in his hands.

"Yes."

"Then you know why I'm wondering if you've seen a doctor or something," Aiden latched onto my admission.

"No."

"But you... That's not healthy, y'know, flashbacks of panic attacks or whatever," he stuttered.

I stared at him in open challenge. "I've been through worse than.. Than a nightmare. I'm fine."

"Tell me what's wrong," Aiden begged, eyes suddenly flashing up to mine as he tried to hide the desperation in his voice. "Please, I can help you, just tell me what happened, what's wrong, what I can do!"

I narrow my eyes. "You can—"

Before nasty, acidic words could come lashing out, the teapot whistled. I jumped, hand tightening around the chopsticks I was holding. Aiden picked up on it, eyes darkening with sorrow. The silence hanging over us was heavy with the weight of things left unspoken, but I didn't move to break it. Aiden moved to the stove in quiet concession—at least for the moment.

"Dammit!"

I was by Aiden's side in a second. He had picked up the kettle only drop it again immediately, clutching at his wrist and sporting burns on his hand from the boiling water that had splashed out.

"What happened?" I immediately questioned, taking his wrist and examining it closely. The burns from the boiling water didn't appear too severe, but all the same I turned on the tap and ran cold water over them. Aiden hissed at the contact, teeth gritted and eyes squinted in pain, but otherwise he didn't make a noise.

I prodded at his wrist, ignoring my sleeves as they soaked in the running water. It appeared to be swollen, hot, and discolored.

"I think it's sprained," we spoke at the same time. I watched him closely. The silence reappeared between us, the rushing tap water unable to drown out my river of thought.

"I did that," I finally said quietly, eyes lowered to further examine his wrist, unable to meet his eyes. "Didn't I?"

Aiden didn't speak, and I'm eventually forced to look up to gauge his reaction. He was watching me closely, as though unsure if I was really there, or maybe as though he didn't quite know who I was. We looked at one another for several long moments.

Finally, he nodded.

I was simply holding his wrist at this point, observations complete, supporting it under the rush of cold water. His skin was warm beneath my fingertips.

"It's fine," Aiden spoke, words breathless and quiet. "Just leave it. It's fine."

"No," I contradicted. "No, it's not fine."

I didn't quite know how to put it into words; I'd injured him; I'd hurt him; I'd physically harmed him. It was wrong, wrong, wrong.

"Let me get some bandages and tape it up," I ordered.

"No, no, it's okay," Aiden attempted to wave me off. "I'll be okay."

My fingers tightened on his arm for a brief moment before letting go. "No," I said again."Just let me help, Aiden. Please."

My plea at the end seemed to throw him off, and he nodded unsurely. I took a deep breath and let it out.

"Let me help."

_-_-...

Hey guys! Your comments are motivating us to update more, keep it up! Sorry for the super short author's notes, I've been super busy in college. If any of ya'll are college students give a gal some advice haha.

Anyways! Comment more! Vote and the likes :)

-S

HI GUYS!

Thank you for the SUPER inspiring comments lasts chapter! It helped us get this chapter out despite super busy schedules! I know it takes a little more time but keep up the inspiring comments! It really does help us update more quickly!

On a side note what the hell was I thinking I have such a hard schedule I'm literally basically taking a year f college:

AP Environmental Science

AP Physics

AP Calc

Senior creative writing 1st semester/AP Comparative Gov 2nd

AP Lit

AP French

(This is S, I already knew she was insane, she just proved it to you ^^^^^ 333)

I will literally be taking all AP (advanced placement, kinda like IB. Basically college courses) 2nd semester. Shoot me in the face.

I may only have had four days of this schedule so far but even though it's way harder I am enjoying it more than junior year. I feel much more engaged with the higher level classes lol

OKAY to sum it up please post more super inspirational comments so we can get another update out soon despite our respective uber busy schedules!

COMMENT!

gaara119

Comment, Vote, and Fan!

Ja ne!

Insomniac_Lullabies


	29. Chapter Twenty Eight-Training & Missions

"Alright," I started, leaning my back and right foot against a tree and folding my arms. The three genin sat on the grass below me. "Who wants to learn how to walk on water?"

Grins lit up their faces.

"Walk on water?"

"Cool!"

"Alright, settle down. You three have been increasing your physical stamina and strengths from day one, but being a ninja also means that you've mastered your chakra networks. That means, being able to walk on water, and furthermore, having precise control of your element(s), once you learn which chakra type you have."

"Awesome! What's my chakra type, Cashile-sensei?" Aisa exclaimed.

"You'll find out soon enough," I said, pushing myself off of the tree. "Follow me."

I walked down to a running stream, genin trailing behind me. Once we reached our destination, I turned around so that I was facing them.

"Okay you three. Start focusing your chakra in your feet. The important thing to remember once you have that down, is that water flows. What does that mean?"

Michiko's hand shot up. I ignored it. Instead, I looked expectantly over at Kento. "Kento?" I asked, singling him out.

Of course, he paled. His weakness was chakra control, id noticed over the past couple missions.

"Why are you picking on me?" He asked defensively. "Why not Aisa?"

I rolled my eyes. "Not that I have to explain this, but both Aisa and Michiko can answer my question correctly. You on the other hand," to prove my point I nodded to Aisa, giving him permission to speak.

"Since water flows, the amount of chakra I have to concentrate in my feet has to flow, too," he said.

"That's an awkward way of explaining it," I said, "but Aisa has the right idea. Michiko?"

"The chakra in our feet has to change with the water. It can't be steady as if we were standing on solid ground. We would fall into the water if we did that." She confidently explained. Chakra was definitely her strength. Which lead to another question in my mind, what to do about her chakra sensitivity. Since chakra wasn't my expertise I'd have to consult Kakashi or Ibiki on that. Or even Sakura, for that matter.

"When you do that, you mean. Expect to fall into the water a couple of times at least before you get it right," I said. It would have been easier for them if I'd taught them how to walk up trees first, but making things easier wasn't my training style.

"So," I said. "Who's ready to get wet?"

***...*.*.

Three hours had passed. Michiko was the only one who'd succeeded walking on water so far. She shivered next to me, clinging onto her clothes.

"You can go home, you know. They," I shot a look over to the boys who were flailing repetitively in the water, "aren't allowed to leave until they figure it out. But you're done for the day."

She shook her head vigorously, " I want to be here for support!"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Okay..."

I observed her and the two boys in the water curiously. How did I get a team like this? They genuinely cared for each other in ways that team 7 never did. I didn't care about any of my teammates at that point. I tolerated them. Naruto and Sasuke hated each other. Sasuke left him in the dust to prove it. Sakura mindlessly chased after Sasuke, a boy that would never love her. And Naruto pined after Sakura who flat out rejected him.

Damn.

Team 7 was so screwed up.

"Yes! Go Aisa!" Michiko cheered next to me. I watched her face flush red as a shirtless Aisa grinned at her from where he stood on the water.

"I wouldn't distract him if I were you," I suggested, raising my eyebrows. They had a connection, that was clear to see.

As if on queue, Aisa slipped through the barrier and his head disappeared under water.

I yawned.

Michiko climbed a tree behind me—the civilian way—and flipped upside down on a branch. "You got this, guys! Remember to keep the chakra in your feet shifting!"

I glanced up at her. "You know you're not getting any brownie points from me for staying, right? In fact, I think it's stupid that you're still out here freezing in your wet clothes."

Michiko stuck her tongue out at me. "I'm not staying here for you," she sniped.

I shook my head. "Whatever."

Silence settled between us, only broken by Michiko's cheers and the splashing as the boys failed.

"Hey, Cashile-sensei?" And wasn't it still strange to hear someone call me that? "What chakra nature do you have?"

At Michiko's question, both Aisa and Kento pause, listening in.

"I bet you have some super cool awesome nature that no one else has!" Aisa grinned.

"Like Shadows!" Kento replied.

"Or Spirit!" Aisa wiggled his fingers here, making and "ooooh" noise.

"Those don't even exist, dummies!" Michiko rolled her eyes. "I bet she has Lava, like that one Kage has!"

"Uh," I cut in, "first off, Lava style is a Kekkei Genkai. Secondly, I actually have Lightning."

Michiko slipped off her branch. Both the boys slipped back underwater.

"But that's so boring," Aisa complained.

I raised an eyebrow. "Let's see how boring you think it is while I'm electrocuting you," I responded.

Michiko righted herself thoughtfully. "Do you have a second one, Sensei?" She questioned. "I know some jonin do."

"Not yet," I replied after a long pause. "Shinobi tend to only have an affinity for one nature, but with a lot of time and training, they could, technically, master all five."

The three genin stared at me. "Has anyone ever actually mastered all five?" Michiko asked.

"A few," I replied after a moments hesitation. "But you guys won't even be able to dream about that if you're not able to walk on water. So get back to work!"

***...*.*.

It was dark out, and Kento still hadn't managed to master walking on water.

"Go home, Aisa, Michiko," I sighed. They made as if to protest, and I added, "That's an order. Go. Now."

They paled, glanced over to Kento, but all the same scampered away. I turned to Kento, who was holding on to the edge of the riverbank; I'd chosen an area with a rather sudden drop off.

"Get out of the water," I said. He complied reluctantly.

"I can get it," Kento insisted sullenly. "Just give me a few more tries."

I studied him closely, not speaking. The only sound for several moments was of water droplets hitting the earth.

"I can do it," Kento insisted once more. This time, he sounded close to tears. "Just... Just don't give up on me, right?"

I could hear the unspoken "please" at the end of the sentence. Blinking once, I tilted my head. Did he even realize how much he was revealing?

"You really suck at controlling chakra," I noted blandly.

He dropped his face, and a single tear leaked out of his eye. I ignored it, pretending that it was simply a drop of water trailing onto his cheek from his hair. What must it be like, to feel so inept?

I sighed. "Don't bother trying to walk on the water again."

His face fell even more, eyes shuttering off all emotions. He gives me a nod, face stiff; not at all like the emotionless mask I had perfected. He started past me, shoulders slumped and face pale, looking utterly defeated.

I raised an eyebrow and rested my hands on my hips. "Where do you think you're going?"

Kento looked at me- sullen, exhausted, weary. "I thought I was supposed to go home. It's late; I failed."

I walked over to Kento and flicked his forehead-hard. "Idiot," I glared at him. "What gave you the impression that you should give up?"

His face brightened suddenly, cautious hope entering his eyes. "You did say I should bother to try and walk on water again," he pointed out, tone meek but growing stronger.

I nodded. "Yeah, I did," I admitted. "But that's because you're going to train your chakra differently. I skipped a step in chakra control exercises and threw you right into walking on water."

Kento's hopeful expression collapsed into a scowl. "I want to be able to walk on water," he replied petulantly. "There's no way I'm letting Michiko and Aisa get ahead of me."

I lifted an eyebrow at his childish complaints. "If you want to walk on water, you'll do as I say."

"Fine," he snapped, arms crossed. "What is it?"

I decide to show instead of tell, and walk up the tree beside me. "The tree is solid. You don't have to constantly adjust the flow of chakra to your feet; once you get the right amount, just keep it steady."

"Okay," Kento agreed as I walked back down.

I dropped a hand on Kento's shoulder. "The hardest area to control one's chakra in is the feet," I informed him. "Don't feel badly that you haven't gotten it right away. Once you break through this barrier, everything will come more easily."

"Really?" Kento asked, voice fragile. I realize that this is the first time I have offered any one of my genin comfort of any sort.

Knowing that Kento couldn't see, I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, sure. Really. Just don't give up again. That sort of weakness disgusts me."

For some reason, those harsh words brought a large smile to Kento's face.

***...*.*.

"Unbelievable! You're listening to Kakashi?" I glared at Lady Tsunade, because Kakashi wasn't here to glare at.

Tsunade' grip tightened on the pen she was holding. So easily angered. Predictable.

"I make my own decisions. I believe your team is best suited to go on this mission," she said.

"To escort a family to a neighboring country. It's practically an C ranked mission, if not D." There was absolutely nothing mysterious about this family. No excitement, thrill or lurking shadows. This was just a security job for an ordinary family. It was an insult to label it C rank.

"We finally get a mission and it's not even a proper mission. Agh!" I exclaimed, frustrated. I was going to seriously injure Kakashi. "Meanwhile team seven got that recinassaince bridge mission! Why couldn't I have gone in that?" I didn't bother to argue that my genin should have been added to that high level mission. "You claimed that me taking this team wouldn't get in the way of my personal growth or missions!"

The mission itself I wasn't actually that upset about. It was the timeline in which it was given. My team in particular had been kept in town for a while, as other teams progressed and went on actual missions. And now that we were finally receiving a mission, it was a bullshit one.

"This will be your mission. This is final," Tsunade said sternly, ending on a biting note.

I suddenly let my face go blank. "Is that all?"

Tsunade peered at me curiously, but not in an obvious way. Only I would be able to tell that my sudden shift in actions bothered her slightly.

"Yes... you're dismissed," she replied.

I disappeared out of sight. Once I was on the street, I sighed, exasperated. I was going to hear a mouthful from the genin tomorrow morning. They were sick of these shit missions, too.

***...*.*.

"Go home and pack."

That's how I greeted the genin the next morning.

Aisa let out a whoop. "Finally! What rank is this mission?"

"C," I replied. "But don't let that fool you. It's D rank at best."

Michiko smiled slightly. "But at least it's outside of the village, yeah?" She murmured. "You were going stir-crazy, sensei."

"You." I pointed at her. "Shut up."

She smiled.

"What's the mission, anyways?" Aisa asked. "How long should it take?"

"We're just escorting a family back to their home country. Merchants. Apparently, they made enough on this venture they might be targeted by more organized criminal groups. Maybe."

Aisa shrugged. "Cool. Better than the shit they usually give us."

"Aisa," I reprimanded. "Language."

Michiko snickered. "Yeah, Aisa. Language. It's not like sensei says worse, or anything."

I rolled my eyes. "Do as I say and all that crap. Go home and pack, and meet back here," I ordered. "Questions? Kento, you've been quiet. What do you think?"

He dug the toe of his sandal into the ground, making little furrows in the dirt. "How long is this mission gonna take?" He asked.

"What?" I snapped. "Is there something you'd rather be doing?"

He just stared up at me with wide, blue eyes.

"The mission should take four, maybe five days, tops," I answered. "Now, everyone, go pack!"

"Hai!"

_*^_€|*£\\!\£***...*.*._

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Insomniac_Lullabies


	30. Chapter Twenty Nine - Team Leader

"Before we go into Tsunade's," I began, lazily leaning against the wall opposite of said door, "you need to decide who is going to be leading this mission."

There were varying sounds of confusion. "Surely you are, sensei?" Michiko questioned slowly. "Unless..."

"Yup." I nodded, answering her unspoken theory. "I'm sitting back for this one. It's far simple enough for a couple of genin to handle without me—especially if those genin are you."

This mission was an insult to me and my team. As such, I refused to participate in it. I'd make it a practical exercise as part of training.

"So who's gonna lead?" Kento asked bitterly, clearly awaiting my "favoritism".

"Thats for you guys to decide, on your own. I don't care who you pick. Just hurry up," I ordered.

Kento's eyes widened, then grew a little fearful. If he could barely handle my judgement that he wasn't prepared to lead, he probably wouldn't be able to handle his teammates' judgment. Which was exactly why he wasn't ready, in my eyes: he cared too much for other people's opinion and respect.

"I'm cool with leading again," Aisa shrugged. "So long as someone else actually listens, this time."

Kento glared, fire sparking in his eyes. "What if I want to lead this mission?" He snapped. "You don't have sensei to coddle you and just hand you the position for no reason other than that she likes you better, this time!"

The two boys glared at each other, Kento visibly angry: hands clenched, shoulders up, breathing harsh. Aisa was clearly trying to copy his brother's offstandish, "I'm far above this argument" look. He ruined it with angrily crossed arms and a childish glare.

"What if I want to be the team leader?" Michiko interjected.

Both boys took a step back, turning to stare at Michiko. "Uh... Do you? Want to?" Aisa asked.

"No," she shook her head. I hid a snicker behind my hand. The boys stared incredulously. "But that does mean that I have all the power, right now."

"Huh?" Both boys asked.

She smirked, and I can't help but smirk as well. The manipulative little brat. She could start a bidding war between them until she got the best deal possible.

"I cast the final vote." Aisa visibly relaxed, and sent a smirk towards Kento. "Aisa."

And oh, how that smirk grew on everyone's faces but Kento's. Mine, because I was proud of how she was about to manipulate these two. Hers, because she knew her plan. Aisa's, because he thought he had her vote in the bag.

"Aisa, you were team leader last time. I think we should give Kento a try."

I slipped from my position leaning against the wall and barely catch myself before I crashed to the ground. None of them turn to look at me and the commotion, too caught up in their little battle. Michiko had held all the power... And she threw it away.

Kento looked shocked, unprepared. He's volunteered himself to be the team leader without even thinking he would win, and now he had no idea what to do with the position.

"I guess that makes sense," Aisa shrugged. "Your turn, man."

Kento is staring open mouthed at the two of them before turning to me, as though I would reject their decision and let him off the hook in a way that wasn't his fault.

Yeah, right. You got yourself into this position, buddy. Now you either gotta buck up or fu—

"What."

"You're team leader, for this mission," I cut in before he could freak out. "Lead the way." I gestured to the door, and he turned and paled.

"Okay." He swallowed determinedly. His eyes grew a little more stressed. "Let's go."

As we slipped through the door leading to the Hokage's office, I caught sight of them; the merchants.

I hid my disgust fairly well.

They were hiding nothing. No secrets, no lies. This really was just a regular boring C ranking mission. At least the genin would obtain something useful from this. Maybe.

The merchants eyed us warily but did not complain. There were three of them in total. One of them held a defensive posture. He must've been the one carrying the merchandise that they'd acquired on their journey.

"Welcome, Team Ten," Tsunade greeted. "Your mission is to escort these merchants to The Village of Hot Water. We're not expecting any trouble other than petty criminals, and perhaps some more organized groups. Understand?"

"Yes!" All three genin exclaimed.

Tsunade shot me a look.

"Yes," I sighed.

"Very well. Dismissed!"

I nodded curtly. The last thing I needed was complications with my plan due to a disagreement with Tsunade. She didn't need to know about my training exercise. Just that I was carrying out her orders.

The merchants remained silent until we reached the gates. But once we made it that far, the man who was obviously carrying the precious cargo-whatever it was-refused to take another step. "We need to wait for your leader!" He insisted.

I stuffed my hands into coat pockets, irritably flicking a strand of short hair from my eyes. I had promised not to interfere, but that didn't mean I couldn't make snide remarks. "Listen, uh-"

"Atsushi," he provided.

"Right. Sushi. Listen, I get that you think you're all important, but honestly, why do you think our Hokage would take the time to personally escort you?"

He turned bright red and spluttered. "I didn't mean her," he snapped.

Michiko stepped up, trying to diffuse the situation. "Sir, I promise you, we're more than capable of protecting you."

"I'm not leaving until your leader—your sensei—comes! You're all a bunch of kids! What can you do?" Atsushi argued.

Aisa's eyebrows furrowed. "But, sir, our sensei is here," he replied, confused, then pointed at me. Only I could see the light of mischief in his eyes.

All three merchants turned to me. "No way," Atsushi shook his head. "You're way too young. There's no way you can protect us!"

I let out a breath, raising my eyes to the sky. "Why would that be?" I asked patiently.

His eyes darted down to the scar on my cheek, and his tongue moistened his lips nervously. Yet he continued. "There's no way you're strong enough! You're just a kid!"

Sighing again, I allowed a blade to drop into my left hand. "I'm perfectly willing to show you just how strong I am," I offered.

The man paled. "I-I," he spluttered, "I paid for you all! So I control you! You can't do anything to me!" I glimpsed the genin out of the corner of my eye. They were all sporting identical little grins. The little sadistic bastards were enjoying this; they couldn't wait to watch me tear this man apart—whether it be mentally, emotionally, or physically.

I twirled my blade once, making the man gulp audibly, then tucked it away. "You're right," I acknowledged. "Killing you personally would create way too much paperwork for me. But remember: when that kunai from a criminal is headed toward your bloated head, the reason it kills you definitely isn't just because you insulted me. It would be because I'm just too young and not strong enough and couldn't quite make it in time." I rest a heavy hand on his shoulder, squeezing just hard enough to bruise. "Capiche?"

His face was completely white now. "M-my apologies," he stuttered.

I smiled with a hint of wicked. "Good," I said. "Now, Kento. Lead the way,"

Anger flashed in the merchant's eyes, but anything he was about to say was cut off by my glare.

"Right," Kento said hesitantly. Aisa and Michiko looked to him for orders. I raised my eyebrow and waited.

Something was off about Kento, and it wasn't just nervousness about leading this mission...

Kento looked at me. His eyes spoke hidden pleas.

"This is your team Kento, decide what to do," I spoke rather harshly. It wasn't in attempt to reassure him, but somehow his spine straightened at my slight scolding, and his eyes hardened.

"Aisa, you'll be in the front of the horses. I don't have to tell you to stay on your toes. You know what to watch out for. Michiko, to the left. Keep a sharp eye out for anything out of the ordinary. I'll stay to the right, and sensei will be in the back, the last and strongest measure if anything goes wrong."

We moved into position without questioning a move Kento had made. The merchants stayed silent, accepting what protection we were offering, as we walked out of the village gate.

***...*.*.

We had been traveling for two days, and were about to arrive at "The Village that had forgotten all wars"- what a stupid name- when it happened.

Actually, it's more of what didn't happen—what was prevented from happening.

"Wait," Michiko spoke. We all paused, not questioning her. The merchants took several more steps before stopping. Atsushi—who was the only one who was really being a bother—started to complain.

"Why are we stopping?" He asked. "Is the little girl tired already?"

Michiko ignored him, glancing to Kento. "I can sense something ahead," she informed him. "It's weak, but..."

Kento nodded slowly. "Can you tell us where exactly it is?"

She scrunched her eyes shut, and I watch her closely. I hadn't had a chance to observe her chakra sensitivity since is helped her construct her shields the day Gaara had been captured. She winced, the same reaction as staring into a too bright light or someone snapping a firecracker off right by your ear. "About 100 yards ahead?" She murmured uncertainly.

"How will we proceed?" I questioned boredly.

"As if we don't know anything," Kento replied.

"What?!" Atsushi shouted. "We're just going to walk into an ambush?"

"We know it's an ambush, giving us the advantage in this situation. We know something they do not," Kento explained patiently.

Kid had a lot more patience than I did.

"Very well," Atsushi muttered forcefully. Idiot would be the one to end up putting us all in a compromising position.

We continued walking, giving away nothing. I observed the perfectly distinct yet silent and hidden communication between the three genin as we passed our safety barriers and knowingly into an ambush.

Several kunai were thrown on all sides. I glared at them, and created a mild genjutsu. To the naked eye I had been stabbed by several kunai. In reality I was hidden in a tree above, watching the entire battle unfold.

An idea I stole from Kakashi, actually,

thinking back to my first actual mission with team 7. I winced slightly, remembering my drug experiments back then. Remembering how weak those drugs made me.

"Cashile!" Aisa shrieked.

That boy sucked at genjutsu.

His eyes darkened and he stood, frozen in time while kunai flew around him.

Michiko jumped in front of him, deflecting a kunai aimed straight for his chest. "Cut it out Aisa, sensei is fine. This is a test, can't you see?"

Realization brightened his dull eyes and he immediately jumped into action with his teammates.

Asushi, on the other hand, was panicking. "Oh my God," he shouted. "The fucking bitch was the weakest one here!"

I rolled my eyes. The genin were doing fairly well, surprisingly. And, even more surprisingly, it was Kento they were rallying behind. I had half expected Aisa or Michiko to take over, but instead, Kento was more comfortable than ever.

"Formation six," he ordered, and in response Aisa and Michiko stepped forward to take the brunt of the attacks coming in. Meanwhile, Kento stepped back, and began to carefully form signs. "Earth release: Tearing Earth Turning Palm!" He exclaimed.

The earth began to crack, the damage traveling to where the kunai were raining down from. I nodded approvingly: a c-rank jutsu, and used judiciously, too. The trees began to topple from the torn earth, forcing the criminals from their hiding.

There were only five criminals, but all the genin could see were that there were more enemies than them. "Aisa," Kento ordered, analyzing the situation, "You stay back. Protect the merchants from any that slip by Michiko and I."

"Alright," Aisa agreed readily.

"Michiko," Kento murmured. "How many can you take?"

She tilted her head. "I could handle at least two of them, but I cant guarantee that they won't slip past me if they care more about the merchants than taking us out."

Kento nodded. "Try to keep at least two of them busy. I'll do my best with three, but Aisa might end up with one. Don't let that one distract you too much, right? We need you to take care of any that slip past us. Understand?"

"Yes," Aisa nodded seriously.

"Mhm," Michiko agreed.

And then both groups attacked.

I watched closely, hoping to pick out weaknesses that I could extract from my genins' fighting technique-both as a team and individually. But after only a minute or two of fighting, things start to go bad.

Kento was fighting two criminals-his third having already slipped past him and engaged Aisa-leaving Michiko with two to handle as well. But then, the criminal fighting Aisa spun and launched a kunai toward Michiko. It was in her blind spot; there was no way she would see it and dodge.

"Jump, Michi!" Aisa shouted. Good: if he'd ordered her to duck, she'd have been in a more vulnerable position. She couldn't jump left or right-not when she was engaged with two men already. Up was the only option. She obeyed without thought or question,and instead of slamming into the middle of her back, the kunai pierced her calf.

She let out a ragged scream, and, before I realize it, both blades are in my hands and I'm tearing wildly through the criminals in the same way I would have when I was the Claw: with no care for myself or my body, only for completing the mission.

My mission, I realized, before protecting these merchants, was to protect my genin.

I stood in the middle of the road. Blood was splattered on my face, staining my hands. Bodies surrounded me-limbs missing, decapitated, stabbed. Aisa, Kento, and Michiko were staring with a mixture of shock and awe.

And I had protected my genin.

...,,,.,.,-_-_

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	31. Chapter Thirty - Relapse

"How did she do that?"

"Cashile sensei is awesome!"

"Did you see her move?"

The genin were whispering amongst themselves, unaware that I could hear them. I rolled my eyes.

Our mission had been completed with ease the rest of the way. No attacks from thieves, enemy ninja. No attacks from them. Atsushi and the rest of the merchants kept quiet, looking slightly (very) terrified for the duration of the distance.

As for Michiko, her leg was bandaged tight (courtesy of Aisa). She'd walk with a limp for a while, but that was about the extent of her injuries.

And now we had set camp for the night. We were considerably slowed by Michiko's injury; what should have been a two day journey, in my eyes, looked as though it would be elongating into four.

"I can hear all of you, y'know," I said, making myself known.

"Cashile-sensei! Will you teach me how to do that?" Aisa asked enthusiastically- too enthusiastically. He was clearly referring to my fighting skills.

I rested my hand on his head and pushed slightly downward. "Absolutely not."

They were so young, so ignorant. But for some strange strange reason, I had no desire for them, any of them, to feel the pain that I had felt. The pain, the torture, the suffering, that had molded me into the deadly weapon I could turn myself into.

Aisa pouted. "Why noooot?"

"You're not prepared. The answer is no," I repeated in a clipped tone, which stopped his pout immediately. He let the subject go after that.

"Thank you for saving me, sensei," Michiko piped up, changing the subject.

"It wasn't me," I admitted. "Well, it was. But I was only able to save you because Aisa ordered you to jump, you listened without question, and Kento held the majority of them off. You three did well," I praised, acknowledging what they did right. They really did have an impeccable trust. Connection. Bond.

My rare praise instantly cheered the genin.

"How long is it going to take to return?" Kento asked out of context, glancing towards Michiko.

"At least four days, by the looks of it," I replied.

"Alright," he nodded, glancing back down toward the fire (the fire, which I had to remind myself was normal, that my genin would need to feel some level of comfort out in the forest).

"Get some rest—I plan for us to be back in Konoha as soon as possible," I informed them, giving them all pointed looks.

"Yes sensei," they chorused in sync.

I left them and walked up a tree which gave me the most advantageous position- allowing me to view every side, but also within close enough range of the genin so that I could come to their defense need be.

I leaned against the trunk of the tree, relaxed enough for my body to rest, but also aware and alert.

Ready to protect.

***...*.*.

We arrived at Konoha four and a half days later.

"Geez," Michiko sighed. "A mission that only should have taken four days suddenly took over six."

"Yeah, I'm exhausted!" Aisa agreed.

Kento but his lip and simply looked at me. That glance was enough to tell a story. Something was definitely going on with him, something he'd forgotten about until now.

Guilt was clear in his eyes. I ignored it, for now.

"Go on home," I allowed with a sigh. "I should be making you join me to see how a report is done when it's not some d-rank mission, but... It's been a long mission. Go on home." I shooed them off with a hand gesture.

The genin squealed and grinned, running off. As soon as they were gone I slumped. Thank God they were gone. I didn't think I would have been able to stand another moment with them. At least none of them had insisted on joining me at Tsunade's.

With one more sigh, I began the trek towards Tsunade's, ready to deliver as many snide and subtle insults as possible.

***...*.*.

When I walked out of Tsunade's office—finally, finally free of everyone—I was planning on going home, drinking some tea, baking a cake, training.

What I wasn't planning on was encountering a teary-eyed Aisa, who'd apparently been waiting for me while I was delivering the report.

"He's not home," Aisa sobbed. "Aiden's not there!"

"Calm down," I snapped, irritated, tired. "He's probably just at work."

"He's always back by now!"

"So he got a new schedule, kid," I replied carelessly, walking around the teary eyed child. Right now he wasn't my genin- he was just the little boy I met in a town full of poverty and despair. He was just Aiden's little brother.

He grabbed my trailing coat, forcing me to pause. Taking a deep—albeit shaky—breath, he calmed. I nodded approvingly. "He would have left a note letting me know," he declared. "He thought we would be back two days ago, and even if we took longer than I said we would, he'd have at least left a note, just in case."

Of course. Not returning from a mission on schedule would be a trigger for him.

I pinched the bridge of my nose in irritation but couldn't do anything but acknowledge the truth of his statement. "Fine, Aisa," I conceded, "Go home. I'll figure out where Aiden is."

"Thank you, Cashile!" he gave me a quick hug before running off. "Tell him to bring ramen!" How that kid's mood changes so easily, I will never know.

I took a moment to think, then sighed. There was a 78% chance that...

I wandered Konoha, checking down allyways and around dark corners. Nothing.

Where could he-oh.

I ran towards our hill, and found him at the base of it, back leaning against a small boulder. Stubbed cigarettes lay in a small pile next to him. He was in the process of bringing a freshly lit one to his mouth. I flicked a kunai towards him, slicing off the glowing end and leaving him with an unlit stick of death.

He glanced towards me, and the look in his eyes threw me off. He wasn't guilty, or defensive, or aggressive. He looked...

Utterly defeated.

I took a half step back, and his eyes were instantly drawn to it. He brought a lighter to the smoke and relit it, drawing in the poison once again. I found myself unable to stop him.

"Go on, then," he mumbled. "Leave. I can see you want to."

Instead I walked forward, for once unsure of how to proceed. It seemed it was always this way when it came to Aiden: hard to predict. Even harder to respond.

Never like any other human I've ever met.

"Aisa's waiting for you at home," I murmured, not bothering to mask the accusation.

"I never smoked in the apartment," Aiden replied, voice coarse. "Always left. Didn't want Aisa to smell it."

I raised a single eyebrow. "Well, you stink of it. The moment you step through those doors he'll know."

"I just..." Aiden trailed off, didn't even seem to notice the cigarette burning away in his hand, crumbling as he forgot to take a drag. "I kept thinking, 'What if something happened to Aisa?'. And everything was so stressful and he, Aisa, he wasn't there to distract me, remind me of why and I just... I was weak and I just..."

I slowly sat down next to him, unsure of what to say. How do you talk to another person and make them feel better? Oh, sure, I was quite adept at tearing people apart. And I knew just what to say to build them back up again. But Aiden could always, always see through that somehow.

And without that I just didn't know how to proceed. How did people do it?

"Why are you sitting down here?" I asked.

"Didn't want to go up there," he mumbled, waving his hands in the general direction of the tree at the top of the hill. "Didn't want to... Taint it," he practically snarled, disgusted with his weakness.

I nodded even though I didn't really understand. "Go home and take care of Aisa," I ordered.

He gave me a strange look that made me think I definitely was doing this wrong. "Jeez, Cashile," he laughed brokenly. "Not all of us can just not feel."

I blinked, half expecting Aiden to immediately take it back, to apologize like he almost always did when he snapped at me.

He didn't.

"Y'know," his voice cracked this time, and he paused, clearing his throat before continuing. "The first time you guys went out for a mission—outside of Konoha, I mean—I was scared. But I still let Aisa go, because he had to. Do you know what I mean?"

"Yes," I said, even though I had no idea what he meant.

"And then," Aiden continued, voice choked. "Aisa came back, right on time, right when he said they were due to return, but... God, you weren't with them, and I just thought..."

"Oh," I said. "Oh."

"But then Aisa told me what happened and it was okay but this time..."

"This time there was no one to tell you what was going on," I finished. "You didn't know anything."

"And Aisa." Suddenly he was crying, lowering his face, shoulders shaking. "God. If something happened to him."

Slowly, I leaned toward him so my right shoulder pressed into his left. "I won't let it," I promised rashly, recklessly. I told myself that I am only saying it to make Aiden pull himself together. "I won't let anything happen to him."

Aiden just continued to cry silently, tears slipping down his face, shoulders shaking, head tilted away from me, toward the ground, as though he didn't want anyone to see. I wondered when the last time he'd cried was, if ever.

Not knowing what to say, I simply sat there, shoulder pressed into his, silent as he shook.

He didn't ask for anything else.

***...*.*.

"C'mon," I finally ordered, standing.

Aiden subtly wiped at his eyes before standing as well. "Where are we going?"

"My apartment," I replied shortly. "You can take a shower there."

"Oh." He nodded. "Thank you. But..."

"What?"

"What about my clothes?" he asked. I wrinkled my nose, eyeing the clothes that are soaked in the stench of cigarettes. "I'm not sure you've noticed, but I'm taller than you. I can't wear yours."

I rolled my eyes. "Do you doubt me?"

"Never," he answered immediately, voice soft and earnest.

I swallowed, and took a moment before I said, "Then I'm pretty sure I can handle breaking into my old apartment and grabbing some clothes."

"And my toothbrush?" he requested. I hated how small his voice was. How shamed.

"Yeah, yeah," I waved it off. "No problem. You owe me."

For some reason, those words brought a small smile onto his face. "Yeah," he agreed. "I owe you."

We were silent until we reached my apartment. I unlocked it. "I'm sure you can find the shower. I'll be right back with your clothes."

I turned, but before I could leave, Aiden grabbed my wrist. "Um."

"What," I snapped, exasperated.

"You're not going to tell Aisa, are you?" He asked hesitantly.

I rolled my eyes, tired of his hesitant, uncertain attitude. "Think it through," I ordered. "I wouldn't go through all this effort of having you shower here and not fucking stink so he won't figure it out, just to tell him. Idiot."

He let me go. "Right. Sorry."

"Just go take a shower," I ordered, spun around, and briskly walked out the door.

***...*.*.

I opened the door to the bathroom and was greeted by a wave of steam. "Hey," I called out.

Aiden let out a high pitched yelp from behind the shower curtain, and I was immediately tensed. "What's wrong? Are you injured?" I questioned. "Do you need help?"

"No!" he exclaimed, sounding strained. "No. Why are you in here?"

"To deliver your clothes," I answered, confused. "And your toothbrush."

"I'm in the shower!"

"Obviously," I rolled my eyes. "Your point is...?"

"I... ugh... could you please get out?"

I shrugged. "Sure. Clothes and toothbrush are on the counter."

"Thank you, Cashile," He replied in the same strained tone.

I shut the door, rolling my eyes once more. By my estimations, he'd be at least another fifteen minutes. Might as well make him dinner to bring home to Aisa; there was no way I'd let him bring Aisa unhealthy, un-nutritional ramen.

I started chopping vegetables and throwing them into a pot with olive oil boiling on the surface.

15 minutes later, Aiden stepped out of the bathroom fully clothed and red faced from, I assumed, the heat of the shower. He wiped at his damp, dark hair with a towel, wandering over to see what I was doing.

"Feeling any better?" I asked, sprinkling pepper into my soup.

"Mmhm," he agreed, resting his hands on my shoulders as he peered over me to catch a glimpse of the soup. "Vegetable?"

I ducked out from under his hands, moving toward a chopping board. "And chicken," I replied, chopping said chicken.

He seemed back to his normal self. Confident, strong.

"Cashile- Thank you. Not only for today. Thank you for keeping Aisa safe during the mission."

"I said I would, didn't I?" I asked casually, mixing the final ingredients in my soup. "You need to get home, Aisa is probably worried sick. Your absence had him in tears when we arrived."

He rubbed his forehead with the bottom of his palm, slowly bringing it down to pinch the bridge of his nose. "I do have to get back home," he mumbled. He looked at me, a soft and hesitant look in his eyes. He opened his mouth, paused, then plunged forth "You know, you should really consider moving back in," he took a small step toward me. "We really miss you in the apartment."

"You know exactly why I moved out. It isn't safe," I explained, staring at my soup. "And besides, I like this apartment."

Aiden glanced around the relatively bare room with raised eyebrows but said nothing. "By your logic, Aisa shouldn't be on your team then either. Automatically he's put in a difficult spot. The difference is his health. Think of all the ramen he's consuming without your guidance," Aiden laughed at his rationale.

"That's why I'm letting you take the pot of soup home," I replied.

Aiden nodded, taking an oddly embarrassed step back, rubbing at the back of his head. "Right," he chuckled. "Okay."

Sighing, I added in the chicken to the soup. I was aware that I'd said something wrong in this conversation based on Aiden's reaction, but I wasn't quite sure what it was. Sticking a lid on the soup, I turned around to face Aiden, only for him to already be studying me closely. I furrowed my eyebrows and slid away from his gaze and into the pantry to grab some bread for the soup. When I come back out, he was staring at the soup with a strange expression on his face.

"What?" I asked. "Something wrong with the soup?"

"Hm? Oh, no," he said. "It's just..."

"What?" I questioned, pulling out another chopping board and bread knife. "Spit it out."

"You're always making us food," Aiden explained slowly.

"Because apparently, you can't cook," I replied.

"I can!" he insisted, but crumbled beneath my judgmental gaze. "Okay, just not as well as you. But I feel like I, or maybe Aisa and I, y'know, should take you out. To a restaurant." He seemed terrified by my silence. "Sushi!" he suddenly exclaimed. "You like sushi, right?"

Wrapping the cut bread in some cloth, I hand it to Aiden along with the pot of soup. "You'll want to let that soup simmer for at least fifteen more minutes," I told him. He accepted the food absentmindedly.

"We can do something else," he worried. "If you don't want sushi. Or nothing at all, I mean, you probably make better food than half the restaurants here, but I was just thinking, y'know-"

"Sushi is fine," I sighed, just trying to get him to shut up.

"Fine? Fine. Oh. Good," Aiden rambledas I herded him out the door. "When?"

"Jeez, I don't know," I replied. "I don't exactly receive a schedule for when missions are going to be."

"Oh, right, of course," Aiden agreed. "So just... sushi. Whenever."

"Sushi whenever," I nodded.

The last thing I saw before I shut the door was a goofy, blinding smile spreading across his face.

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Insomniac_Lullabies


	32. Chapter Thirty One - Planning

"I need your help."

I raised a single eyebrow, knowing exactly what Shikamaru was going to ask me for.

"No."

"You didn't even hear me out!" Anger rose in Shikamaru's already fragile, broken voice. He had clearly spent the night crying.

By now, anyone of importance would have heard of Asuma's death. Tragedy? Yes. Loss of a good asset for the village? Yes. Anything I could get involved in? Probably. Did I want to get involved?

Nein.

At least, not at a time like this. When I had to focus on myself.

I sighed out loud. "Look, I've got my own genin to deal with, and I'm behind on my own training. I can't afford the time to sit down with you and come up with strategies to avenge your sensei's death. I have nothing to avenge," I reasoned out loud.

And on top of that, I'd spent the better part of the morning investigating Kento and the cause of his mysteriously uncharacteristic behavior as of late. The genin conveniently had the day off after such a long mission-not only did they actually need the recovery time, but I was also busy.

He scoffed. "You're so selfish, Cashile."

"Also flattered," I replied smoothly, not at all swayed by his harsh words. "The only reason you're here," I said, using my hands in a wide motion to gesture my apartment, "Is because you think I'm the only one who is capable of thinking through a strategy, seemingly flawless in comparison to your own," I pointed out, smirking.

"Aren't you intrigued by the Akatsuki, though? Fascinated by their abilities? One member took down Asuma, a jonin of the village. Wouldn't you want to figure out how to take down an opponent this powerful?" Shikamaru prompted, clearly doing his best to manipulate and sway me.

Amateur.

"You make some good points," I conceded, grabbing my coat. "We can talk on the way to the ANBU interrogation center."

He didn't question why we were headed there, simply nodding and stepping back so I could lock the door.

We walked at a casual pace to the ANBU interrogation center, and Shikamaru laid out strengths, weaknesses, characteristics; everything one would need to know in order to come up with a strategy to defeat the opponent.

"So, what you're telling me is that one guy is immortal and the other has unknown powers?" I clarified.

"Yep. And I've been strategizing ways to separate them and turn their powers against each other. Any thoughts?"

Of course. That's why he wanted me: no one else could keep up with his thought flow. I knew how that felt. And it helped, to have someone to bounce ideas off of that could actually keep up with your train of thought.

In fact, my mind could outpace his.

"Do you have a location in mind to set a trap before you even try to lure one out?" I asked.

"I have a place in mind..."

He laid out the bare beginnings of a plan to me and I digested it, nodding slowly. "I'll think about it," I acknowledged, laying a hand on the door handle to the Anbu Interrogation Center. "I'll get back to you when I can. Will you be leaving anytime soon?"

He scowled. "I was planning on leaving tonight," he admitted.

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I let out a sigh. "Of course," I murmured. "Listen, there's this little tea shop on the corner by the flower shop. You know it?"

"I can find it," he replied.

"Good. Be there for lunch. Around 12:30. Maybe 1:00. Depends on when I get done with my training."

I had to take a lunch break in the midst of all my training anyways.

"Alright," he agreed. "And Cashile..."

"Yes?"

"I don't think you'd ever be so troublesome, so I don't have to tell you..."

"Don't tell anyone." I waved him off with a sigh. "I got it, Shikamaru. I have nothing to gain from ratting on you."

"Alright. Good luck with Ibiki."

I pulled open the door, and by the time I wondered how he knew it was Ibiki I wanted to talk to, he was gone.

I smirked. He was amusing.

***...*.*.

"Cashile," Ibiki greeted politely. Too politely.

"I need something from you," I stated, not bothering with the formalities. I stuck my hands in my coat and waited impatiently for his reply.

"Straight to the point, as usual." He grunted, studying me thoroughly as he stood from the desk, setting some paperwork aside. I smothered a snicker; the terrifying Ibiki, torturer of Konoha, swamped in paperwork. "What is it?"

Of course that's when I reminisce about the old days, and how swamped in paperwork he must have been after beating me to a pulp.

"I need you to cover for me and train my team for some time. Just two or three days tops. They have today off. The Hokage promised me that when she made me a sensei, I would still have time to train on my own and further my own growth. So far, I'm not impressed." I crossed my arms, then laid down the final piece: admitting a weakness to make him believe I truly did need this. Which I did. "I'm sure it's obvious that my ninjutsu is nothing more than the bare minimum I need to know."

Ibiki studied me for a long moment, then nodded. "Of course. You have lightning type chakra, so you'll want to ask Kakashi where to start on your training. Tell your team to report to the training grounds at 5 a.m tomorrow for training."

I raised an eyebrow. "They aren't going to like that."

Ibiki shrugged his shoulders. "I've got things to do to. Anything in specific you want them to focus on?"

"Just do what you do, Ibiki," I said. He had been my sensei, after all. And look how I turned out. "I'm sure I can pick up the pieces, afterwards."

He gave me a grim nod, and I turned on my heels. He had agreed far too easily. Clearly he wanted something from me. What, I wasn't sure. All I knew was one thing.

Whatever he wanted...

he wouldn't get it.

***...*.*.

I tracked down my other former sensei in less than five minutes. My tracking lead me to a large training ground right outside the village gates.

"Kakashi. I can see that you're a little... busy." I eyed the tens of Narutos in the training ground with raised eyebrows. "But I do need to borrow you for just a second."

Kakashi glanced from his book, toward Naruto and his clones, then shrugged. "Fine. You have five minutes."

I nodded. "Lightning style," I stated.

"What about it?"

"I have it. You have it. What do I do?" I laid out, irritated with his intentional density.

"Well, first you need to get your speed up to par-"

"Done." I rolled my eyes. "Obviously."

"Er, right," Kakashi rubbed at the back of his head awkwardly. "Let's see... You remember how it felt, running your chakra through the paper?"

I go through my memories, finally finding the instant I'd discovered my chakra nature- I'd finally come around to organizing my thoughts and memories to my liking, as I had had it set before. "Yeah." I nodded.

"Some lightning release users can run their chakra down blades," he explained. "Not only is that a powerful weapon, but if you can master this technique, it would be of great help in training with future jutsu."

"Alright," I nodded, understanding immediately what I had to do. "Tips?"

"Can I see the blades you plan to use?"

I hesitated-they were my blades-then nodded, allowing them to drop into my hands and handing them to Kakashi hilt first. He took them, nodding appreciatively at their weight and sharpness. "I wouldn't use these to practice on," he warned. "Remember what happened to the paper when you ran your chakra through it?"

"I could crumple the metal of the blade as well, until my technique is perfect," I realized. "Thanks. I'll go to the weapons shop and ask for scrapped kunai or blades to work on. ."

Kakashi nodded. "Good Idea. And Cashile?"

I raised an eyebrow, a silent gesture for him to continue.

"Some advice, working with lightning style can be very dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. So be careful-don't over do it."

I scoffed, dramatically eyeing Naruto, whom, one could easily say, was "overdoing" his training. Under Kakashi's supervision, none the less.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "He's different. He has a vast supply of unlimited chakra at his disposal, it always seems. He also heals a lot faster than you do."

I waved him off. "Whatever Kakashi, I'll see you later."

I picked up a faster pace. After seeing what I could salvage from the weapons shop, I took what I had been able to carry and went to the training grounds.

It was empty. Good.

I laid out all the metal pieces in front of me and grabbed the first one, concentrating hard. Chakra flowed through my body, and I imagined a release in my hand. I glared at the piece of metal. A burst of lightning, a hint of spark, anything?

The damn metal didn't even crumple.

I reached into what felt like the deepest parts of my soul, and pulled at the chakra.

And tried again. again. again.

Nothing.

I let out a frustrated growl and kicked at a piece of metal scrap on the ground. Clearly I wasn't doing something right. Was it the frequency of the chakra? Strength? Power?

I narrowed my eyes at the metal, and decided on a more logical approach to this difficult situation. I sat on the ground, and meditated. I turned over the situation in my mind, recalling every sense, every feeling, and tried to figure out where it went wrong.

Then I would try again.

***...*.*.

"Alright, Shikamaru," I greeted, throwing myself into a seat. "Let's get started. You're buying, by the way."

He sighed, pulling out his wallet and glancing into it. "How troublesome," he murmured. "Keep it cheap."

"Right," I agreed, then ordered a cup of herbal tea. I was exhausted from training; the last thing I needed was to fall asleep during planning. I took the cup of tea, denying any sugar or lemon. "Let's get started.

"You look frustrated," Shikamaru said, setting a shogi board on the table.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Training. You did your planning," I began, raising an eyebrow, "to take down two members of the Akatsuki...on a shogi board?"

"Yeah," he drawled boredly. "Will it be a problem?"

He thought it was a rhetorical question.

"Yeah, actually. I don't know how to play."

Shikamaru stared.

"What?" I asked defensively. "I prefer chess." I tilted my nose upward slightly.

He facepalmed.

I rolled my eyes. "Just teach me. It can't be that hard to pick up on."

"Shogi is an art," he argued, clearly shocked by my ignorance. "It takes years to master and understand."

"Well then," I smirked. "Better get started."

***...*.*.

Shikamaru was being an idiot.

If he thought he could pull off his plan with just him and his three teammates, and then whatever backup Tsunade sent once she'd found out they were gone, he really was as stupid as his haircut made him look. Shikamaru thought I wouldn't rat him out to anybody. He thought he had me figured out; he thought I would care more about seeing if this plan would work than I cared for their lives.

He was right, of course. But I also knew that the plan would fail if it rested on only Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji's shoulders. I was smarter than him. And I could see through it. I could predict the outcome with somewhere around 95% accuracy. He wouldn't listen to me, of course.

Which was why I was here for the second time today.

"Kakashi," I murmured, appearing behind him as he read his book. He wasn't startled in the slightest-or at least, he pretended not to be. "Tonight, you might want to be by the gates."

"The village entrance?" Kakashi asked, surprised.

"Do you know of other gates I might be referring to?" I questioned sarcastically.

"Why would I want to be by the gates tonight?" Kakashi began to stand, confusion and concern evident. "What do you know?"

"That's for me to know," I replied, backing away, fading into the darkness. "and for you to find out." My mysterious attitude would have the intended effect. He would definitely be there tonight.

And Kakashi would certainly inform Tsunade as well.

I was saving the idiot's life.

And he would totally owe me for it.

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Insomniac_Lullabies


	33. Chapter Thirty Two - Words Unspoken

Excruciating pain shot up my arms. I gritted my teeth and worked through the pain.

Be careful, Kakashi had said. Don't over do it.

But I'd felt pain so much worse than this.

I could push through this. It had been an entire day since the newly formed Team Kakashi had left to pursue the akatsuki, and I had made progress. I could visibly see the chakra shooting down my scrap metal, even if only for a second. It was painful progress.

But I would be able to progress in leaps and bounds, faster than anybody would expect me to, because I could push past this pain.

I sat back, mulling over the most recent attempt. Training like this was basically experimenting: you tweaked variables until it worked, and then practiced that way until perfected. I had gotten to the point where my chakra would run down metal for a split second, but no more.

Maybe the problem was the amount of chakra. Maybe I was using too little in an attempt to draw out my chakra reserves so I could train longer. I had fairly large chakra reserves; my extensive physical training saw to that. Nothing close to Naruto, of course, but respectable enough for a jonin of Konoha. My chakra control, however, was only mediocre. I needed to work on my ninjutsu.

I took a deep breath, held onto the warped kunai tightly, focused, and pushed.

The metal exploded.

I flinched, eyelids automatically closing in an attempt to protect my eyes, letting out a wordless exclamation of surprise. Most of the medal shards exploded outward-away from me-but a few scraped my skin, drawing blood. One particularly sharp piece pierced my shoulder, entering the flesh. I swore quietly, painfully raising a hand to my shoulder.

"What the fuck?" I wondered aloud, pulling my hand away and viewing the blood there. "That was incredibly violent."

Wincing, I pulled my clothing down off my shoulder in order to further inspect my wound. "Wow," I mumbled, poking at the bloody hole left behind by the piece of metal. I reached backwards, feeling along my shoulder to see if there was an exit wound. There was none. "Thank God that didn't hit my eyes."

The wound was still bleeding slugishly, along with a few scrapes along my face. Taking a deep breath, I probed at the wound, deeper and deeper until I felt the edge of the metal. Gritting my teeth against the pain, I slowly worked it out from my flesh, doing my best to not worsen the wound.

Letting out the breath I'd been holding, I inspected the bloody piece of metal in my hand before allowing it to drop it the ground. "Like a paper bomb," I mused. "But harder to dodge."

Blood dripped down my chin, and I wiped it away. "Also much more difficult to control," I conceded.

I tossed another scrap of metal up and down slowly. This certainly could be weaponized. But I couldn't imagine a way in which it could be controlled, or directed. It would simply take out anyone in the area of the blast.

Would it have to be a suicide weapon, then? Did someone have to be right there to set it off? If so, it was useless-unless one could force a disposable ninja to set it off and take out more enemy than the one ally lost.

No. If this potential weapon was to be successful, it would need to be possible to set it off with the necessary surge of chakra from a distance. Perhaps through chakra strings, or maybe there was a way to store a large amount of chakra in the metal ahead of time, but use a seal to hold it off and stabilize it. Did the chakra have to be lightning nature? Or would any large amount of chakra make the metal explode?

I had forgotten how much I enjoyed experimenting, creating. But now was not the time for it. I still needed to perfect my ability to run my chakra down a blade. I still needed more information. And the only way to get that?

Practice.

***...***.*.*

I was puffing air in strangled breaths, exhausted from all the training I'd accomplished today, when an ANBU appeared in front of me.

"You've been summoned by the hokage." He intoned, before disappearing from sight.

I sighed. Of course, I'd been expecting this. I appeared in front of Tsunade in an instant.

"I was summoned," I stated simply, casually.

"Yes," Tsunade started. I saw Sakura standing behind her, tense and worried. My appearance seemed to have slightly startled them, what with dried blood caked on my face and shoulder and multiple bruises and scrapes appearing on my arm.

If Tsunade was curious, she didn't show it.

"You are to act as a reinforcement for Team Kakashi. You will act as an individual unit, but will travel with Team Yamato in order to fulfill the mission and bring the Akatsuki down." She ordered.

"What's the catch?" I asked. Clearly, something was going on. It was obvious with Sakura's nervous stance and slight, fidgety movements.

"In the case that Naruto is unable to complete his jutsu within the next couple hours, you are still to move ahead with your orders, but you will not be accompanied by Team Yamato," Tsunade said.

I nodded. "Anything else?"

She shook her head once. "You're dismissed. If you are not contacted by Team Yamato by nightfall to engage in a plan, you have my permission to leave the following morning."

I nodded. "Understood." Turning on my heel, I left, hurrying down the stairs and appearing outside. Exhaustion flooded through me. But I had to get back to training. I had to perfect this. I had to-

A wave of dizziness came over me and my body doubled over as vomit rose up my throat. I retched to the side and was seized by a fit of coughing. I detected Sakura's presence behind me, but ignored her and kept walking.

"You've been training hard, Cashile. It's taking a toll on your body," Sakura lectured, worry lacing her voice as she caught up to me.

I waved her off. "It's nothing Sakura."

"At least let me bandage your arms,"she urged. This kunoichi was persistent. But if I let her bandage me up I'd heal faster. She had a point.

"Make it fast," I muttered, conceding.

She used her medical ninjutsu to ease some of the pain. Bruises faded and she wrapped my arms tight in bandages. "Take it easy," she warned one last time. "You need to be fit for this mission, Cashile."

I nodded dismissively and watched her run off, most likely back to Naruto and Yamato.

I sighed and stared at my bandaged arms. Perhaps now would be a good time to rest and allow my body to recuperate so that I can heal with stronger abilities. If I was simply training my body, I would be able to continue. My chakra, on the other hand, was a different matter altogether. I needed rest.

By my calculations, Team Yamato would be accompanying me. There was no way Naruto would fail in whatever he was working on, with such high stakes on the line. Well, that's a bit rash to assume. A more accurate prediction, would be that it is highly unlikely that Naruto would fail with such high stakes on the line.

I let my feet wander until they led me to a place I used to call my house.

I didn't bother to knock. I knew Aiden would be at work. Aisa, on the other hand...

Or should I say, Aisa and Michiko, sat red faced on the couch, looking highly alert as I kicked the door closed behind me.

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh," was all I said.

"Cashile-sensei!" Michiko exclaimed. She abruptly stood, smoothing down her skirt. "I-I should leave."

I waved off her suggestion. "No, stay, stay. Don't mind me." I headed for the kitchen, opening the fridge and poking through it.

"C-Cashile..."

"By your tone of voice, I'm assuming your brother doesn't know you have a girl over," I stated blandly.

Michiko had seemed to be in control of herself now. Her face was of normal color now, unlike Aisa, and she smoothly replied, "We were just discussing teamwork strategies, sensei. I'm just here as a teammate. Unfortunately Kento couldn't make it. He had ... family business," she lied smoothly.

I become more proud of her every single day. Clearly, I was a great influence.

"Unfortunately for you, my specialty is deception," I walked over to Michiko and flicked her on the forehead.

"Ow," she muttered, rubbing the new red spot on her forehead. Her eyes widened as she seemed to notice my bandaged arms.

"Training. Don't worry about it," I replied before either of my genin could make a big deal of it. I turned to Aisa. "And Aiden will return at the usual time?"

Aisa nodded vigorously, still brightly red faced. "He usually gets back from his morning shift in about an hour. Then he has to go back for evening."

I nodded, gulping down some water. "Sure," I acknowledged around the bento in my mouth that I'd found in the fridge. It wasn't half bad. I wandered over to the couch, ordering, "Off."They scrambled to obey, and I collapsed on it. I really should steal it back. "I'm taking a nap," I announced. "You guys continue... whatever strategies you were previously discussing. Please, don't let me interrupt team bonding," I said sarcastically.

"We'll just..." Michiko trailed off.

"Uh, go..." Aisa finished.

The last thing I heard before I allowed myself to drift into a healing sleep was Aisa and Michiko's giggles, and then the slamming of the door.

Excruciating pain shot up both my arm. No, not only my arms.

Every muscle, limb, ligament. Every bone. Every inch of my body was in pure agony. A low hollow sound echoed from the pit of my stomach, but I was far from hungry- only used to the dull ache in my chest, the constant yearn for replenishment.

But I had been a bad tool. And the bite of the cold metal which contained me as my body numbed from the cold, was a reminder of my failures.

I had been disobedient. I had fought back. I had rebelled. I had been bad, bad, bad. And I repeated this over in my head, banging the side of my head against the cold, hard, unforgiving metal, until I saw blood splatter the cold, hard ground, and stars shine above my head. And shine they did- until I could do nothing else but succumb to the darkness.

I gasped wide awake, glaring at my arms. Pain still coursed through, but a lesser, more... sore form of pain. The pain of my arms in my unconscious mind must have dragged back old memories associated with the type of pain.

"Hey, hey," a voice spoke hurriedly. It was then that I noticed his presence. He was sitting on a recliner-which I had most certainly not bought when I'd owned this apartment-but was hurriedly standing, setting down the book he was reading. "You alright?" he asked, wandering over, awkwardly standing next to the couch.

"What time is it, Aiden?" I asked, sitting up slowly. I flexed my fingers. Better. Much better.

"'Bout two," he answered. "What's up with your arms?"

I glanced down at the bandages. "Training," I answered. "Piece of metal blew up in my face. I was thinking that it could maybe be used as a weapon-metal bomb, y'know? But honestly, it would probably make more sense to put shards of scrap metal by paper bombs. Much more deadly, much more simple, and doesn't take up as much chakra."

"Metal exploded in your face?" He asked, fascinated.

"Yeah. Hey, got anything to eat?" I asked. "I need food for energy. Gotta get back to training."

He eyed my arms but said nothing, respecting my knowledge of my own body and limits. "We could go grab that sushi, now," he offered hopefully.

"No," I shook my head. "I gotta get back to training. I'm leaving on a mission by tomorrow morning at the latest, and I need to perfect this technique I'm working on."

"Right," Aiden agreed. "Sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry for," I awkwardly reassured. We were silent for a moment. "So... food?"

He turned, rummaging through the fridge and pantry. "Well, apparently you ate my bentos," he glared.

"They were good and I was hungry," I defended myself.

"I have some onigri," he offered. "And salmon."

"Sure," I agreed. "I need the protein. And tea, too?"

He nodded, and we ate in silence.

We didn't speak for several minutes after the meal, simply sitting at the small table. Finally, Aiden requested, "Be careful, right?"

"Always am," I replied flippantly, standing. He grabbed my hand before I could leave.

"Really," he insisted, dark eyes insistent. "Be careful, right?"

I watched him, and realized how serious he was. With Asuma's death so recent in the village, such a shock, and with my team's previous mission running long, and even before that, when Aisa and Michiko and Kento had returned without me... Aiden would never try to control my life, make me stop being a ninja.

He just wanted me to be careful.

"I will be," I promised softly. He squeezed my hand once, then let go.

But sometimes, careful wasn't enough. We both knew this, both thought it, and he feared the possibility, but neither of us spoke it, allowing the idea to hang between us unspoken.

Those words didn't need to be said.

_-&:9-0-&:9-$3):)-_-_

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Insomniac_Lullabies


	34. Chapter Thirty Three - Realized Plans

I arrived at the training field not too early the next morning, but not too late. I had a good estimate of when Naruto would be completed with his jutsu and ready to depart...

Or to not depart. There was only twenty four hours left before the deadline.

So I had come to them instead of the other way around. After all, I'd finished with my own training earlier this morning.

"Have you finished the technique, Naruto?" I asked when I reached Naruto and Yamato who were located in the same large clearing as they'd been for days now. It certainly looked as though he'd accomplished something, judging by the large crater he was standing in.

However, noticing the depressed look on his face, and Yamato's not quite yet defeated exhaustion, it definitely wasn't perfected yet.

Unlike my new technique.

With rest, nourishment and a lot more practice, I had come pretty close to what I had wanted to achieve.

And I was very satisfied with my results.

"He hasn't finished, no," Yamato shook his head.

I nodded, contemplatively.

This new information meant that the likelihood of me being sent out on a solo mission to support Kakashi and Team Ten had just increased.

Either way was fine by me.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted from the top of the crater. A pale boy stood next to her, and I studied him closely as they approached. "You're awesome!" She smiled, glancing around the crater.

"Your training is progressing well, I see," the boy observed. The way he held himself spoke of a well trained shinobi: dangerous, capable, at least jonin level.

So why was he on team seven?

Sakura noticed my gaze and realized that I'd never met the boy. "Oh! Cashile! This is Sai. Since you have your own genin team, and because... y'know... Sasuke... he was added to team seven! Sai, this is Cashile Kuroki." She explained awkwardly.

It was easy to tell that the transition had been rough on her.

I noticed her tight lipped smile but ignored it. After all, it wasn't my problem to deal with.

Sai smiled at me, squeezing his eyes shut, and I immediately distrusted everything about him.

Fake, he screamed. His blank eyes, fake smile, carefully composed face... He almost reminded me of an older version of me.

Except I was—am—better at faking it.

"Cashile-san," he greeted. "I've heard much about you."

I turned my gaze to Sakura and Naruto in turn, studying their reactions closely. Neither seemed surprised, so they must have talked about me around him. However... Those words carried too much weight for him to be referring to idle rumors.

The conversation left me behind, but I didn't bother to keep up, instead opting to mull over this new puzzle. People were saying goodbye to Naruto so I left, not bothering to speak my own farewells.

Sai was strong. He was fakefakefake. He clearly was trustworthy, to have Yamato's—an ANBU Captain's—respect. But he knew about me, had heard things, remembered them. Which left me with one question.

Who's been talking about me?

***...***.*.*

"Team Seven and Cashile Kuroki," Tsunade greeted formally. "Captain Yamato, do you feel Naruto has perfected this technique and is able to go with Team Seven to back up Team Ten?"

"I wouldn't say that he has perfected the technique exactly," Yamato admitted with a slight grimace.

"I believe I sense a "But" coming," I commented dryly.

Yamato shot me a dull look. "But," he conceded, "I definitely believe he has progressed far enough to back up Team Ten alongside Team Seven and Cashile Kuroki."

Tsunade turned her gaze to Sakura, who in return hinted a slight nod. Interesting dynamics. Tsunade sighed but also nodded. "Very well. Team Seven and Kuroki, you are officially dispatched! Good luck on your mission."

With nods and replies of acknowledgement of our orders, we sprang into action, not wasting a moment longer.

***...***.*.*

"Hey, Cashile?" Sakura questioned as we ran across the hard earth. They had appointed me as the official tracker, and I was focusing on the trail.

"Hm?" I replied, only paying her the smallest sliver of attention.

"What does your team do? When you're not there?"

"They either run training themselves, train with Ibiki if he's free, or do D rank missions," I replied, scanning the ground.

"They do missions without a team leader?" Sakura asked, surprised.

"They're pretty independent," I nodded. "Besides, they're just D rank missions. It gives them a good chance to exercise free thought and leadership ability instead of relying on me to tell them what to do."

"You know, despite what everyone says, you're not a terrible sensei."

I snorted. Well obviously. A terrible example? Of course. Do I still wonder how Tsunade allowed me to become a sensei? Of course. But I also knew that I was a damn good teacher. The results made that obvious.

I glared ahead of me in annoyance. Again with people talking about me. I would have to do some investigation upon my return.

"We're almost there," I replied, after a couple hours of contemplating and silent tracking. I tensed suddenly, feeling the low energy emitting from Kakashi.

"We need to hurry. Looks like their in trouble," I voiced what everyone else was thinking. "They should be straight up ahead."

Sure enough, there was a clearing which emanated multiple strong and weak chakra signatures.

"Keep running straight ahead," I ordered. A sudden plume of dust exploded toward the sky and I pointed. "Toward that dust."

Yamato gave me a blank look that said, you don't say? but nodded. "Where will you be going, if not to the fight?"

I glanced to the left, toward the forest growing there. "I just want to check something out. If nothing is there, I'll catch up. Go."

Yamato nodded, showing his understanding, and I sprang away. After all, I did know all the plans that Shikamaru made, and one of those would lead him directly into this forest. There was no hesitation before I plunged into the darkness of the forest: the cost of my help with planning had been Shikamaru's permission to enter his clans forest.

We had made this plan with the realization that if Shikamaru ran out of chakra, he would die. If he hadn't been careful, hadn't preserved his strength, he would have no way to fight back. Chances were that he hadn't been such an idiot, but people did stupid things when blinded by their emotions. He had been closest to Asuma, after all.

By the time I managed to find Shikamaru, his shadow binding was nearly failing as Hidan took step after staggering step toward him. Taking advantage of the fact that neither realized I was here, I dove off of a tree behind Hidan and brutally hamstrung him.

Hidan let out a little grunt from the pain before swearing violently. "Where the fuck did this bitch come from?!"

"Cashile," Shikamaru greeted dryly. "I've got things handled, here."

"Really?" I raised an eyebrow. "Because from my point of view, it looked like you were about to lose."

"I feel like I've seen you somewhere before," Hidan mused. "The way you tore through my leg reminds me of someone..."

I raised an eyebrow, still watching Shikamaru, and tilted my head toward Hidan. "You sure you got this?"

He sighed at my questioning before nodding. "Go support the others. I've got things handled, here."

I gave him a mocking salute. "If you say so," I agreed before taking off.

Hidan's mocking laughter trailed after me. "You're leaving your comrade to his death, you stupid little bitch!" He shouted. Rolling my eyes, I smirked; Hidan would have no idea what hit him.

The two most brilliant minds in Konoha devised this plan, after all.

I ignored the sound of an explosion behind me.

***...***.*.*

I arrived just in time to see Kakazu throw up a load of wires.

"What the hell is wrong with him?" I asked Kakashi.

He started, clearly startled by my presence. "I thought you were with Shikamaru?" he asked. "We sent you guys back up."

"Unneeded," I replied simply.

"Unneeded?" Kakashi questioned incredulously. "Shikamaru was up against an Akatsuki member by himself!"

"Yeah, and he had it handled," I waved him off. "Trust me. I helped make that plan too, y'know."

The look in his eye showed that he clearly didn't.

"Don't tell me Shikamaru took all the credit!" I complained.

"No, he said he worked through several scenarios with an acquaintence," Kakashi explained. "He just didn't say that that acquaintance was you."

"Oh," I paused, mulling it over. "Okay then. By the way, why is Naruto standing in front of Kakazu by himself?"

"This is something he needs to do," Kakashi said seriously.

I stared at him.

"What?" Kakashi asked.

"You're kidding, right?"

He simply looked confused. "Naruto has been working on that new jutsu so he could come on this mission."

I shook my head in disbelief. "Let me get this straight. You have two chunin." I nodded toward Choji and Ino. "An ANBU." I indicated Yamato. "A former ANBU." I gestured to Kakashi. "And a jonin." I spread my hands out. "And you send the genin?" I point to Naruto. "Alone?"

"Naruto is strong," Kakashi insisted. "He could even surpass the fourth Hokage."

"Well he can't if he's dead," I replied scathingly. "This is idiotic! We have four ninja perfectly capable of helping Naruto-look, Ino, you're a medic nin, you don't fight-and you're going to send Naruto by himself? How does that make any sense?"

"Because," Kakashi admitted, "chances are we would get in Naruto's way."

I rolled my eyes. "Bullshit. Look, I don't really care if you don't want to prevent Naruto's death. I just don't want to fail a mission."

Something about those words put a look of pain on Kakashi's face. "I know, Cashile," he replied softly. I stared at him, confused by his sudden change in demeanor. "But trust me, on this one: Naruto can handle it."

I shook my head. "I don't understand why we wouldn't all attack," I replied. "It's idiotic."

A sudden plume of dust rose up, and several shouts of "Naruto!" rang through the air.

"If he dies, I'm not going to hold back on the 'I told you so's," I warned.

"Right," Kakashi agreed dryly, then his eye widened dramatically. I glanced over my shoulder and saw that Naruto had been entangled with the wires.

"Be right back," I told him, and sprinted toward Naruto, dodging the wires sent my way.

"Yamato!" I heard Kakashi shout, and suddenly wood is shooting toward Kakazu, distracting him from me. I was aware of Kakashi right behind me, backing me up. I pulled one of my blade out into my left hand, concentrated, and successfully ran my chakra through it. With the added strength of the chakra, my blade easily split through the wires. Kakashi grabbed Naruto, extracting him from the wires while I covered their retreat.

"This is why I said," I snapped, appearing by Kakashi and brushing my hair back, "we should all attack, not leave it up to Naruto."

Yamato grunted, sending more wood toward Kakazu, but failed to hit him.

"Naruto," I turned to him. "If we're going to insist on you being the one to face the brunt of him, then at least agree to listen to some semblance of a strategy."

Naruto hesitated, scowled, then nodded. "Alright. But listen to my idea first and see if it will work."

A couple minutes later, Naruto stood, creating several shadow clones. He and his clones ran toward Kakazu, and then... Naruto, holding his new jutsu, was hit.

I smirked, while Ino and Choji, a little farther away, screamed his name. And then the clone disappeared, Naruto hurtled toward Kakazu, and the jutsu connected.

I watched Naruto slam his new jutsu into Kakazu and braced for the resulting explosion, ducking behind Kakashi so any shrapnel would hit him, not me. "Why am I even here?" I mumbled as the wind and dust roared by. "You guys didn't even need me. They just needed Naruto, jeez. And some sort of semblance of a plan. What a waste of time. At least it worked."

Finally, after what felt like ages, it ended. I coughed, lungs burning from the dust. It took all my self control to remember to breathe because it reminded me of that night when I couldn't breathe.

We all turned, staring at Naruto in a mixture of shock and awe. I couldn't hide the trepidation and wariness that I felt; I could beat Naruto, I knew I could, but...

That jutsu.

"He's still down!" Ino exclaimed, jumping over a tree root and running toward Naruto. Choji followed, but I remained where I was: I didn't know any medical jutsu, and only basic first aid.

I walked away from Yamato and Kakashi, ignoring their heavy gazes burning into my back as I jumped to the bottom of the crater.

"Defeated by a couple brats," Kakazu groaned. "I was the best; I fought the first Hokage."

I allowed my two blades to fall into my hands. "It was only a matter of time before you were defeated," I replied. "Eventually, there will always be someone faster, someone stronger, someone bigger, someone smarter. Whether to us or someone else, you would have eventually been defeated, as we all will."

"I know you... From somewhere..." Kakazu whispered.

"I would hope so," I crouched down. "We did work together, once."

His eyes lit up with recognition. "You were that assassin," he breathed. "The Claw. We took out that target to split the money. I planned on killing you and taking it all."

I nodded. "But you couldn't."

He let out a choking laugh, full of irony and disgust as I ran chakra down my blades. "They're looking for you, Claw," Kakazu warned. "And they don't stop."

"I know," I informed him, and stabbed him through the head and through the neck.

But I couldn't shake his words from my head.

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	35. Chapter Thirty Four - Tools

"Alright then," Lady Tsunade nodded. "I order you all to take a couple days off. Rest your bodies and your minds."

Well. There's advice I definitely wouldn't be following: I had barely done anything! I was simply an observer and the final executioner. Hardly a part of the real fight.

Everyone else standing in the room looked weary and exhausted. I stood straight and tall.

Lady Tsunade expertly ignored my look of annoyance.

I could put the given official time off into good use, though. I hadn't forgotten my previous investigations on Kento. His absurd attitude before our last team mission spoke louder than anything he could have said directly to me.

"You are all dismissed," Tsunade concluded, eyeing Naruto's hand with worry. Her and Shizune would no doubt investigate further on his new jutsu. It was a powerful jutsu. Even I wouldn't let that thing hit me, unlike with the rasengan, which had done enough damage on it's own.

"Hey-Shikamaru!" I called out before he could disappear on me. Not that I wouldn't be able to find him, it was just much simpler this way.

He acknowledged my call with a nod, and walked away, knowing I would follow. Once I had caught up, we walked for a while in a silence. Ino and Choji walked just ahead, glancing back with curious looks, occasionally.

"Are you angry at me, Shikamaru?" I asked casually, breaking the silence.

"Huh?" He questioned. "About what?"

"Ratting on you to Kakashi, of course."

He snorted. "Well, my team and I are still here. Let me say: it makes lot more sense now why you insisted on not only planning for three people, but four as well."

I shrugged. "Well, I predicted that Kakashi would volunteer to go with you. If he didn't, you and your team would have found a way to sneak out. So really, we just prepared for all possibilities and outcomes. One of which you simply weren't aware was a possibility."

"I thought that you were thinking about coming, actually," Shikamaru laughed. "I didn't think you'd send Kakashi."

"I had... other things to work on," I replied distastefully.

"Your new technique," he stated.

I nodded. "It's coming along well. Needs a bit of tweaking and of course, there's always room for improvement," I offered. "I only got to use it once during the fight with Kakazu, in order to cut the wires away from Naruto, and it wasn't quite as effortless as I would have liked."

He smirked. "Well, let me know if you ever need a shogi partner."

I scoffed. "I'll teach you chess," I declared.

He rolled his eyes. "Nice working with you, Kuroki."

I held out a hand. He eyed it for a long moment before finally reaching out and clasping it. "Nice job, Shikamaru," I conceded. "There aren't many people I could say that to with sincerity."

"And am I one of them?" Shikamaru drawled. I laughed.

"That's for me to know and for you to figure out."

He shook his head at me as I turned and left. "Troublesome," he muttered- but there was a lingering smile on his face.

***...*.*.

"Faster!" I ordered my genin.

They were a panting mess, but continued to fight me, quickening their attacks. "Michiko! Your left side is wide open! You're too concerned with protecting your face!"

I followed up my criticism with a hard kick into her side, and she went flying backwards.

"Aisa, you're not nearly strong enough!" I exclaimed, blocking a punch and throwing him aside with ease. "And Kento!" I whirled, roundhouse kick blowing through his defense. "You're a complete mess!"

With a snarl, I straightened, abruptly ending the spar. "In a real fight you all would be dead by now!" I snapped. "Aisa, you're the best at taijutsu here, but you need to work on the strength of your attacks. Your fast, smart, and see the openings, but even if you land a hit it barely hurts."

He nodded, exhausted.

"Kento! You're completely distracted! You're stronger than Aisa, but a complete mess. Your form is sloppy, you leave yourself open, and you have no idea when or where to attack!"

Eyes downcast and red head lowered, Kento nodded, subdued.

"Michiko," I turned to her and raised an eyebrow. "You've been working on endurance training outside of my training, haven't you?"

She blushed but nodded.

"It's not good enough, yet," I told her. She sighed and nodded. "It's better than Kento's by far, and probably better than Aisa's. Y'know, taijutsu will probably never be your favorite, but you could become pretty good at it. Your style would be far different from Aisa's or Kento's though; you would do well with aiming for simple, precise attacks that takes out an opponent. It's not showy, but it gets the job done."

She nodded again, pleased this time. "Alright, sensei," she agreed.

"Okay then-" I suddenly cut myself off and glanced around, sensing someone approaching. Then, what appeared to be an ANBU appeared in front of me.

"You have been summoned," he informed tonelessly. I eyed the outfit closely before turning to my genin. "Take an hour break for lunch before coming back here. If I'm not here on your return, then Aisa is to work on the strengthening regimen, Michiko is to study the human body and what places are most devastating to be hit and work on endurance. Kento," I looked at him before shaking my head slightly. "Work on sparring against a training dummy and get your head on straight."

They all nodded before turning away, chatting excitedly. I couldn't help but notice how Kento left, despite Michiko's and Aisa's clear protests, turning in the direction of his home. A sigh left my lips before I turned back to the ANBU.

"You have been summoned," he informed me again.

"Yeah, is that so?" I asked. "Where? You're not wearing the standard ANBU gear-a tanto instead of a Katana, could you be more obvious?-so it's not the Hokage. Who summoned me, then, and where?"

The ANBU froze for a long moment, before finally replying. "I cannot tell you. Come with me if you wish to find out."

I raised an eyebrow. Can't? Slowly, weighing the risks in my mind, I finally nodded. "Alright," I agreed. "Let's go."

He grabbed my arm and transported me to the destination only he was aware of.

***...*.*.

We were clearly underground. I glanced around, but the ANBU had disappeared already.

There was a slow, shuffling sound, and I studied every shadow, waiting for someone to appear. Eventually, a man with bandages covering half a scarred face, one arm in a sling, and a cane in the other hand appeared.

I recognized his face immediately. It was a hard one to forget.

"Shimura Danzo," I announced, and immediately drew my guard up in full, pushing everything away escort for my focus on this moment. This mindset reminded me of when I was the Claw, but I push that thought away, too. It was unneeded.

Danzo. I should have guessed. As the Claw, I was required to know the names and faces of all who held influence and power in each village. Danzo had never been a particular target of mine, but I knew quite a bit about him and his organization.

"Kuroki," he acknowledged, not surprised that I knew of him. "You can set your weapons down, no harm will come to you here," he said, eyeing my hands warily.

My knives had been concealed, but of course I held them, ready to attack, need be.

But Shimura Danzo was not a threat to me, nor were anyone in his organization.

"I know of the Root, Danzo," I revealed, treading carefully with my words. This had to go in my favor. I twirled my knife in my hand, before sliding it back against my hip - sending a message. "I know how you train Anbu in secret, your methods," Of course, his methods weren't nearly as bad compared to those used by the Phoenix. "So, I assume you brought me here for a reason?"

"You assume right, Kuroki," he said gravely, almost dangerously.

"Oh," I suddenly realized. Danzo narrowed his eyes, confused by my sudden break in conversation. "You're the one. Who was talking about me. Sai is yours."

"Ah," Danzo replied. "Yes. Will that be a problem?"

"Not at all," I waved a hand. "For now. Why am I here?"

"I require someone of your... expertise," Danzo informed me slowly, clearly picking and choosing his words carefully.

"You need me," I stated flatly. "For what?"

"We recently acquired an assassin that has been threatening Konoha and the Land of Fire as a whole. Thus far, we've been unable to break the assassin or extract any information from it. We believe that your... familiarity with the subject will give you a better chance of breaking the assassin."

I furrowed my brows. I knew the assassin? I was familiar with it? "You want me to torture someone," I finally concluded, trying to draw out more information from Danzo.

"I simply wish for you to extract information," he replied smoothly. "You are far more knowledgeable about the assassin's training and state of mind than anyone here."

It clicked. "You have It," I realized. "The Claw."

Danzo watched me for a long moment before nodding. "Yes."

"It's not easy to break a Claw," I said.

"That's what you said to Ibiki and the hokage, but we both know that there is a way to extract information from these... things."

"It's impossible. For you, for Konoha," I shook my head."With your techniques... it's a joke."

"We broke you," Danzo raised an eyebrow.

"And more than half the reason you did was because I had been breaking myself," I countered. "You had a hard enough time breaking me and I was fighting for you. This is different. This one will fight back. Konoha can't break this Claw."

"Which is why I brought you."

I watched him closely. "The methods I would have to use..." I trailed, raising an eyebrow. I was testing him and he knew it.

"Unlimited boundaries," he replied, unconcerned.

"Fine," I conceded, trying to hide the hesitation. I would rather have time to thoroughly think through every possibility and course of action, but that wasn't how Danzo worked. "Take me to it."

Shadows lurked as we walked through the dimly lit corridors. Silence allowed for loud echoes of our footsteps to bounce off the walls, until we reached a door, guarded by ANBU Root. We stopped outside the door, and I couldn't tear my eyes from it.

I was shaking.

"Scared, Kuroki?" Danzo mocked with an animalistic smirk. He taunted me, hoping to ignite a particular icy fire in me that I'd attempted to put out, to abandon, upon my return to Konoha.

I tore my gaze away from the door and stared at Danzo. The look in my eyes didn't quite make him take a step back, but he did shift slightly under his robes as though grasping at weapons. I allowed a smirk of my own to settled across my face; something I never would have been allowed to do as a Claw.

"Not exactly," I practically purred, voice low. "But let me warn you: if you let me walk through that door... You won't like what comes back out. You might find you have a hard time... Controlling it."

Danzo narrowed his eyes at me, but didn't object. "Do what you need to do," he said, waving his hand in the air- a gesture to the guards.

I nodded. But I wasn't ready just yet; I had to go in there, fully prepared, fully composed, fully organized.

"I'm going to need a team of medics," I informed Danzo, still watching the door closely.

"Medics?" He asked despite his clear resolve to show no surprise around me.

"Of course," I murmured. "You don't want the Claw dying on us, now, do you?" I asked rhetorically.

"What will you need?" Danzo asked, smoothly hiding his widening eye as he realized what I was saying: my torture wouldn't be constrained by my need to keep the Claw alive. The medics would do that for me.

"Medics adept at the blood replenishing jutsu. A surgical circle, to keep the Claw's stats steady," I listed off, not bothering to see if he was keeping up. "Medics to heal the worst of the Claw's injuries as we continue."

"Anything else?" Danzo questioned. I tore my gaze from the door in order to give Danzo my full attention. I smiled, and he hid a shudder.

"And a couple of tools."

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Insomniac_Lullabies


	36. Chapter Thirty Five - Torture

The Claw eyed the medics circled around It.

I studied It for a long moment; Its skin was bruised, abraded, sliced apart in some places. I waved a medic forward in an order to heal It. Always better to start with a clean work surface. Pushing everything down and locking my mind on the task ahead, I walked around the Claw as the medic healed It. It was wearing no clothing. That meant I didn't have to worry about hidden weapons or pills the Claw could take in order to kill Itself. Its body was bound, including its fingers so no jutsu could possibly be formed, and there was a gag in its mouth to prevent biting or speaking. Finally, finished circling, I ended up right in front of the Claw again.

"Hello," I greeted.

The Claw's gaze snapped to me. "Mujōna," It said, tonelessly. The medic finished and quickly backed away.

I graced It with a nod. "You know of me," I acknowledged. "Great. That takes care of introductions."

"Cashile-san?" A ninja questioned, hands on the cart full of tools she had just rolled in, the Claw's gaze is drawn to the hammers, blades, saws, clamps, and other tools laid out precisely on the cart's surface.

"Just leave that there," I ordered with a smile. Turning towards Danzo, I asked, "So what's the deal with these medics? Will they talk about what happens in here?"

He was already shaking his head. "No," he replied. "They can't."

I raised an eyebrow. Can't? The ANBU had said the same thing when I'd questioned him about where I'd been summoned and who had summoned me. Danzo picked up on my unasked question and gestured towards a medic.

She stuck her tongue out at me.

"Ah," I replied, studying the seal on her tongue. "I see. Ingenious."

Danzo smirked and nodded. "No information about events that took place in this room will leave their mouths."

"Unless you order it so, of course," I murmured.

He blinked, then let out a coarse laugh. "Of course."

"You'll need to be out of sight," I ordered him. "I have to control all the stimuli I possibly can." Danzo nodded. "And I expect you to share any information you discover with me, of course."

He narrowed his eye.

"Otherwise, I just may let it slip to the wrong people that this organization exists," I smirked, hiding how tense I was; this was a gamble on my part. Danzo would never risk the discovery of his little organization. But that didn't mean he would give in to my demand; he might just as easily order my execution. I could escape, but I would never be able to stay in Konoha.

"But of course," Danzo replied smoothly. "And in turn, I won't speak of the activities your getting up to today. Konoha may not turn away from torture of enemy nin, but the torture of a little boy who looks fresh from the academy? We have to draw the line somewhere."

We stared at each other for a long moment before I nodded tersely. He returned it, and I considered the matter closed.

I turned back to the Claw, who had watched the entire exchange with calculating eyes. Danzo faded into the shadows as I began. "Have you ever played the game Would You Rather?"

The Claw was staring at me with incomprehension. Even a medic made a noise of confusion. The Claw didn't know what the game Would You Rather was. The medic didn't know why I was talking about a child's game during an interrogation.

"C'mon, you can't be older than thirteen, maybe fourteen; you must have played at some point." I was still met with a complete and utter lack of comprehension. "Alright, I'll explain. I say 'Would you rather', then list two options, which you have to choose from. Get it?"

I waited for some signal of Its understanding and receive none. "Alright, how about an example? Would you rather," I questioned, and suddenly there was a kunai spinning around one of my fingers, "I cut your shoulder or your calf?"

The Claw didn't answer.

Quicker than most people could follow, I cut both Its arm and Its leg. It barely winced; It had suffered through worse. I mockingly scowled at the Claw, wagging a finger at It. "You have to choose!" I reprimanded.

The Claw of the Phoenix had no dignity. It had no honor. It had no respect. The Claw of the Phoenix would scream through torture if that gave It a better chance of survival. It would cry and beg and fake breaking down if that's what it took to escape unbroken.

I was counting on it.

The Claw would play my game, stressing as it tried to choose an option that would cause the least damage. And it wouldn't even realize where the most damage was happening: Its mind. Because even though the Claw would be hurt no matter what, eventually all that registered would be that It was choosing ways of being hurt.

"Would you rather... I stab your right hand or your left hand?" I questioned conversationally.

"Left," It answered promptly.

I smirked and did as the Claw requested.

It screamed.

***...***.*.*.

The Claw in front of me vaguely resembled a human being.

It had the right outline—four limbs and a torso and a head—but from there on there was enough gore and blood and open wounds that the Claw didn't seem human.

One of the hardest aspects of enduring my torture, I knew, was the lack of rhythm. It seemed like such a small thing, but eventually not knowing when the torture would begin and end and where it would occur began to wear at the Claw.

I never let It have a set amount of time to answer. Sometimes, the Claw got up to two minutes before it had to choose or I simply executed both tortures. Sometimes, It got less than ten seconds.

"Would you rather," I practically sang, still cheery and nonchalant despite the gore in front of me. I knew my friendly, casual manner would confuse the Claw, putting it on edge. "I slice your stomach again or cut off your big toe?"

The Claw's breath hitched in Its throat, blood from the wound left by Its extracted molar gurgling in Its mouth. "I..." It licked Its lips—or what was left of them—nervously, and I took note of the small fracture in Its composure.

It would choose having Its stomach cut, despite having already received four in the exact same spot. Its big toe was essential to balance and Its ability to run.

"Tick tock, tick tock," I murmured.

"Stomach," the Claw finally gasped out, just as I knew It would. "Cut my stomach."

I did as It said. The grey pink of Its viscera appeared and began to slide out as the cut parted the last layer between them and the outside world. I caught them deftly. "Oopsies!"

I heard a medic retch but ignored him, maintaining my character of childish nonchalance. The medics had already been replaced twice; the first two groups suffered from chakra depletion in their effort to keep the Claw alive through my interrogation.

And the entire time, I could feel Danzo's eyes burning into me.

I eyed the guts in my hands, considering just what to do with them.

"Would you rather," I questioned, eyes staring into Its, which refused to meet mine, voice pitched low so only the Claw in front of me could hear. The boy's—Its, Its, Its—eyes met mine for the first time throughout the entire torture, wide and wild and feverish and intensely blue. They said all that he could not. There's a long moment in time where there was only the blue of his eyes screaming at me, and then his they dropped as pain wracked through his figure.

I ignored what I heard in his eyes and continued. "Taste your own intestines, or have your pinky cut off?"

The Claw stared. He knew what he should choose; being forced to know the flavor of his own intestines would not physically harm him in any way, and losing a finger, while not devastating, could effect his performance. I gave him time, not to gather his resolve but to realize the futility of the situation. His breath came quickly.

"Well?" I asked, just before his eyes started to harden. "Your answer?"

I poked at his stomach. He blinked slowly, and I saw a tear slip down his face.

"Pinky," he said quietly. "I'd rather you cut off my pinky."

I nodded, and made short work of his pinky instead of drawing it out; a reward, of sorts. Besides, the next choice should break him.

I backed up, allowing a medic to heal his stomach slightly as I tossed his pinky up and down. His blue eyes, once so empty, followed its progress. The medic stepped away, and his reprieve was over.

I studied the boy and his blue eyes closely. He would break. He already had, a little. Now I simply had to exert the right pressure in the right area in order for him to shatter completely.

"Would you rather have your eye pulled out or eat your own pinky?"

His breath caught in a way that sounded suspiciously like a sob.

I gestured to his eye. "It wouldn't just be like scooping the pit out of an avocado; your eyes are attached deep inside your scull by muscles and deeper into your brain by the optic nerve. It would sort of be like pulling up a weed with a particularly deep root. The pain, I have been told, is exquisite.

"On the other hand," I gestured with his pinky. "You can bite into your own finger as easily as you would a carrot. It might not taste nice, and the bone might be a little tough to swallow, but it would be over relatively quickly."

They boy's eyes were flickering over the entire room as though, after all this time, he would find an escape. I watched him emotionlessly, dropping the casual charade I'd been using to put him on edge.

"I need you to choose, Claw," I ordered without sympathy.

Tears were slipping from his eyes without restraint, now. His eyes were begging me to stop, begging me to not make him choose between two terrible options.

In response, I allowed my final words to fall; the hammer blow that would finally shatter him into pieces.

"You've had the power to make this stop the entire time," I murmured. His eyes widened because now, in this fragile state of mind, he thought it was his fault he'd been subjected to this torture; after all, he could've stopped it at any time. He'd even been choosing what torture he wanted, he preferred. "You can even make it stop now."

And the boy broke.

I watched dispassionately as the boy sobbed, begging for it to end and begging me to stop and promising me he'd be a good Claw and tell me everything I wanted to know. I turned away from the pitiful mess of a human being.

"H—It's all yours, Danzo," I announced flatly. "Expect It to descend into utter madness within an hour at most. You might as well kill It after that. Your time is limited."

"Your expertise is appreciated, Kuroki," Danzo murmured.

"I did you a favor," I replied, eyes dead. "That's it. And now you will owe me one in return."

"Of course," he bowed smoothly. "You may go now."

I didn't appreciate how much that sounded like a dismissal of an underling but nodded and walked away all the same. My job had been done. Danzo, and his entire organization, owed me.

It was worth it.

It should have been worth it.

An ANBU appeared, grabbed my arm, and transported me away.

I stepped from the shadow of the Hokage mount, where the ANBU had dropped me off, and found that I was shivering.

I just wanted to go home.

I began to walk.

A door appeared in front of me.

It was Aiden's apartment.

I knocked.

I knocked again.

Aisa answered.

"Cashile!" He exclaimed happily. "Aiden's not home right now! Or are you here to give me super awesome secret training? We all did the training you ordered us to do cause you didn't come back! Where were you? Oh, Aiden took a late shift this week; he won't be home until, like, two in the morning, and it's only eleven right now. And don't tell him I stayed up this late: he said I had to be in bed by ten at the latest. But—Cashile? Hey, Cashile!"

Aisa's chattering didn't make any sense, so I had simply turned and walked away.

But he grabbed my arm.

I stopped.

"What."

"Are you okay, Cashile?"

"Tell Aiden to come to my apartment when he's home," I ordered.

I rattled off the address.

"Okay," Aisa agreed.

He sounded scared.

The Claw had looked scared.

His eyes had been terrified.

His eyes, which I'd been prepared to tear from their sockets.

He couldn't have been more than a year or two older than Aisa.

"Tell Aiden," I ordered again.

I disappeared.

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Insomniac_Lullabies


	37. Chapter Thirty Six - Unfathomable

By the time the knocking registered, I was almost certain Aiden would leave before I made it to the door.

He'd been knocking for a while, I realized. The knocks were growing louder, more frantic, more frequent.

I hoped he wouldn't leave. I didn't think he would; he already came all the way here. But it was cold outside and I still hadn't answered the door.

Finally, I dragged myself out of the corner behind the couch I had stuffed myself in, keeping the blanket wrapped tightly around me as I opened the door, letting in a blast of chilly air. Aiden stood there, one hand stuffed into the pocket of his thin coat, shoulders hunched against the cold, and fist raised in mid knock. I took an automatic step backwards out of the reach of his fist, but he didn't seem to realize the reason for my retreat, instead taking it as a welcome into my apartment.

He took a step forward over the threshold, closing the door behind him, banishing the cold, and drew me in for a hug. I simply stood there, clutching the blanket to myself and finding that I did not want to push him away.

"Aiden..." He pulled away so he could see me, and I realized that words wouldn't come. "You came," I finally marveled after several long moments. "It's late."

"I don't mind walking for a bit in the cold to see you." He gave me a smile, then glanced around the room; it was just as bare as the first time he'd seen it, and his smile slipped into a frown. I pulled the blanket tighter around me.

"You alright?" he asked slowly, eyeing the broken teacup on the floor of the kitchen, the tipped over chair, and the blanket wrapped tightly around my shoulders.

I stood there, feeling awkward in my own skin, not knowing what to say. "I..."

He was silent, waiting for me to speak, but I had nothing I could say at the moment. "Do you want some tea?" he finally asked. I nodded, mouth still tightly closed, not trusting my voice to not betray me. "Okay," he smiled gently. "Sit down. It'll just be a moment."

I nodded again, and he entered the kitchen. After a moment, I slowly entered the living space, ignoring the small couch that wasn't nearly as comfortable as the couch I'd left at Aiden's-my old apartment-in favor of a corner of the room. I sank to the cold, hard ground, listening to Aiden right the chair, pick up the broken tea cup, and start the water boiling.

He finally returned with two cups of tea, joining me in the corner on the floor without question. Accepting the proffered mug, I held it between two hands, welcoming the searing heat. After several minutes of silence, I finally told him, "You'll never understand, y'know."

He didn't argue, simply watching me with dark eyes. "Maybe not," he admitted. "But that doesn't mean that you can't tell me."

And when he put it that way, everything suddenly seemed so simple in this complicated world. I returned my gaze to the tea in my cup, watching the steam spiral lazily from its surface as my mind both raced and stuttered to a stop. "Okay," I agreed softly. "Okay."

At first, I couldn't force the words out, but eventually they fell from my mouth, and Aiden caught them before they could hit the ground. A cold part of my brain screamed against revealing this weakness, screamed and screamed and screamed, but the larger part of me was simply tired. So I talked, ignoring the fact that I might hate myself for this in the morning, ignoring the fact that this was a bigger risk than I should ever have been willing to take, ignoring the fact that I would never be able to rationalize or justify this sudden break in control.

We talked, and he soaked in the information with ease, without so much as a shudder, but that was because what I was giving him was nothing significant. Nothing with meaning. Nothing that would scare him away. Nothing that would make him hate me. I knew what would happen once he found out about that. About everything. About exactly what kind of monster had been teaching his little brother. With the weight of things unsaid our conversation slowly dragged and died down.

"Do you wanna stay up for a bit more?" Aiden asked. "Or do you want to go to sleep? It is late, but..."

I wanted to tell him that yes, yes, it was fine, it was time to sleep, but after so long talking, those words couldn't make their way out. "I-" I gulped, and I tried to throw up my shields, I tried to shut down and push everything away, but it wasn't working. I couldn't get rid of the image of those blue eyes, wide and wide and wide again, wide enough to swallow me whole, full of fear and pain and accusation and I couldn't shake them from my mind.

"Let's stay up for a bit more, yeah?" Aiden decided.

"That's fine." I was finally able to speak again. "That's fine. I-"

And once again my voice failed, because, I realized, I didn't want Aiden to hate me. Suddenly, with the unbearable weight of a thousand steel walls and a thousand accusing stares and a thousand terrible actions, my face cracked.

Aiden moved closer to me, placing a hesitant hand on my shoulder. I immediately shrugged it off so I wouldn't have to experience him pulling away in disgust.

"It's going to be okay, Cashile. It'll be okay. I promise, I'm still here for you," Aiden promised, and somehow, that made it worse, because he truly believed that, and I would be the one proving him wrong, and for once I didn't want my predictions to be right.

"I'm scared."

I could sense his surprise at my admittance, and I said it again so he would know that he had heard correctly. "Aiden, I'm scared."

"There's nothing to be scared of," Aiden reassured, but there was something terribly dark and worried lurking under his calm tone. "I'm here, and I won't leave. It'll be okay, Cashile."

"I'm scared..." I whispered again, and I couldn't tell if I was trying to manipulate him into pitying me, or if I was, for once, truly, simply, speaking the truth. "You just... you could never understand." I lowered my head, clutching at my short hair. "For all you try, you could never understand. Oh, God. If you knew what I've done. You would never even look at me again. Especially not like..."

And there he was, looking at me that way. The concern, the understanding, the care, the... I couldn't even place the emotion in his eyes. It was all at once too simple and too complicated for my mind to grasp. I'm not crying but something is dripping, melting the small piece of ice that had been lodged between us ever since I came back, ever since I had refused to tell him everything that had happened, everything I'd done.

And then, just as the boy had, I broke.

And suddenly, I was telling him.

I knew in a small corner of my brain that I might regret this, that I should be mortified by this weakness, but I couldn't stop myself for some reason. I told him secrets nobody had ever known, secrets I had refused to ever let go of. Horrors I had committed and horrors that had been done to me and I know that with each word passing through my lips Aiden's disgust in me was growing and I couldn't look at him, I couldn't watch the closest thing to-to anything I'd ever had draw away with hatred and fear and everything my victims had ever felt.

Because that's what Aiden was, in the end: a victim of me and my destructive life.

I couldn't look at Aiden by the end of it; I knew what I would see.

"Cashile."

I refused to look up, to meet his eyes and see the condemnation there.

"Cashile." He was insistent, cupping my cheek and bringing my face around. I reluctantly allowed the physical contact, allowed my gaze to be dragged to his. I knew what I would find there, what all my prediction pointed to.

Hate. Disgust. Monster, monster, monster. Stay away, stay away from me, stay away from my little brother, stay away from us. Leave, leave, leave. You shouldn't have ever come back here.

But what I saw there wasn't hate. It was one of the strongest emotions I'd ever seen expressed in his eyes. They burned, burned away the unshed tears sparkling in them, burned with something that wasn't hate or disgust or damnation.

"I won't leave," Aiden murmured fervently, pulling me into a hug. "God, Cashile. What they did to you... I've never cared for you more. And I swear, it's not pity or some sort of plot. I just... I could never leave you. Even though I know what you've done."

And I may not have told him absolutely everything, and maybe I never would, but I had told him enough, shared enough horrors, that he should have hated me. He should have left. He shouldn't have been... hugging me.

"This is completely illogical," I whispered into his hug, shocked, shaking my head slowly. "Your reaction makes no sense. You're still here." He pulled away, hands on my shoulders, and his eyes were immeasurably sad and immeasurably fond and I couldn't even begin to understand what was going through his mind. Finally, he opened his mouth to speak, to offer me an explanation for his behavior, but for a long moment nothing came out.

Instead, he leaned in and kissed me once, slowly, and I was too shocked to even think about stopping him. After several moments, he pulled away, hands cupping my face, and, as though it explained everything,

"I love you, Cashile."

Then he drew me in for another hug and didn't seem to realize that I couldn't even begin to fathom what he meant.

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Insomniac_Lullabies


	38. Chapter Thirty Seven - Terminal

When I woke, I was on the ground next to Aiden, head resting on his chest. Still half asleep, I pressed closer to Aiden and the warmth he provided, the fabric of his shirt soft against my cheek, sighing as his arm tightened around me in response.

After several minutes, I began to shift. "I have to go," I murmured against Aiden's warm chest.

"Hmm?" He groaned, not even opening his eyes, refusing to let me go.

"I'm going to be late," I complained.

"Just a few more minutes," he insisted, tugging me back. There was no real strength in the movement but I allowed him to pull me down, safe in the knowledge that I could break his grip in seconds if needed.

I rolled my eyes. "Your back is going to be so sore," I told him.

"And yours won't?" He yawned. I scrunched up my nose, irritated by the smell.

"I've slept on worse," I replied, beginning to tug myself away once again.

He made some sort of noise of acknowledgement. "Sushi?" He mumbled, still half asleep.

"For breakfast?"

He cracked one eye open, watching as I unwrapped his arms. "You've had chocolate cake for breakfast, before," he reminded me. "Let's get sushi."

"Won't Aisa be worried that you didn't go back to the apartment last night?" I asked, sitting up.

"Mmm, he knows where I am." Aiden grinned, reaching out and wrapping an arm around my waist.

I rolled my eyes and peeled his arms off of me. "I have to meet my team at the training grounds, soon," I informed him, wandering to the bathroom to brush my teeth.

"Right, Cashile, the sensei," Aiden teased, turning on his side to watch me walk away.

"Not by choice!" I reminded him before brushing my teeth.

It was a partial truth. I did have to meet my team at the training grounds, but I had an... errand of sorts to run first.

"Sushi after?" Aiden asked when I reappeared. He was still on the ground, but had propped himself up with a pillow from the couch.

"Sure," I called back, slipping my boots on and closing the door behind me.

For some reason, I was smiling.

***...*.*.

I transported myself to a beaten down house closer to the other side of the village. Not many houses were built down here and the ones that were weren't too great to live in.

I opted for the window over the door, and settled on the outer ledge of the open window in Kento's room. He was sharpening his kunai when I arrived.

"Kento," I said, earning his immediate attention. I considered reprimanding him for his lack of awareness before deciding against it.

"Sensei?" His eyes widened with more worry than surprise, and I take note of it immediately; there was obviously something he didn't want me to find out. Why else would he be so worried about me appearing at his house?

"I'm not late, am I? I thought we weren't supposed to meet for another half hour, at least!"

I raised an eyebrow at his babble, studying his pale skin and the bags just beginning to form beneath his eyes. "When will you learn that's there isn't really anything you can hide from me?" I sighed, observing my distraught student. "How bad has she gotten?"

He furrowed his eyebrows, considering his options, but soon his face fell further in defeat. "It's bad. Really bad. The doctors are saying that she doesn't have much time left."

"Kento!" A woman's voice screeched. He winced, glancing over his shoulder toward the door.

"What's her name, again?" I asked, mostly to buy some time to further study Kento before he tried to kick me out. "Your sister's, I mean."

"I-" he glanced over his shoulder again, clearly worried but trying to hide it. "Miyu," he murmured. He was tense, far more tense than when I'd ever seen him and that didn't make sense, because, from what I had gathered, you were supposed to feel relaxed in your own home.

"Kento, get your lazy ass down here!" this time the woman's voice was much louder, and Kento let out a resigned sigh. I tilted my head slightly, watching his reaction closely. I already knew that Kento's father was a smoker and a drunk. His mother, I gathered, was a waitress, earning meager wages and working long hours. Any money earned went toward his sister's medical treatment.

Konoha might cover the expenses of ninja's treatment, but it didn't cover civilians'.

"I have to go sensei," Kento told me, looking away in embarrassment. "My mom probably needs help with the breakfast.

I nodded and left him at that. The most I could do for him was offer my two cents, and he would most certainly be receiving a handful of change from me after today's missions in the form of a lecture. Because If he kept screwing up, actions would have to be taken. I wouldn't risk putting Michiko or Aisa in danger because one genin couldn't get his shit together.

I listened to the clanging of dishes for a moment before leaving, heading toward Tsunade's and knocking impatiently on her door.

"Enter!" Her voice commanded from inside. I stepped inside.

"Here to collect the day's missions for my team," I announced, voice bored.

"Yes, Cashile. I was just about to summon you. We need to discuss..."

I raised my eyebrow. Another solo mission? Finally. I may actually be useful in this one.

"Discuss what?" I asked even though I was certain I knew what she would ask.

"I have a mission for you. A solo mission," she stated, watching me carefully. I gave nothing away and allowed her to continue without disruption. "We've received intel that Orochimaru, a known opponent of the Leaf village, as I'm sure you've heard, has been killed. By Sasuke Uchiha."

Oh.

I'd predicted this would happen. Of course it would. Sasuke had the potential to be... strong. And if he had the potential, the apprentice would always grow stronger and overthrow the master.

"You want me to gather intel," I said.

"It is your specialty," Tsunade replied. "We need to know what Sasuke Uchiha's next move will be now that he's overthrown Orochimaru."

"How do you know he's actually dead?" I asked. "He seemed to be rather obsessed with immortality from what I gathered."

"Well, that's your job to find out, isn't it?" Tsunade replied, challenging.

I smirked.

"And what of my team?" I questioned. "Last time I stuck them with Ibiki. I can't do that too often if I don't want them to break."

"I will have a substitute sensei placed over them to observe them on their daily missions until you return," she sighed.

"Understood. My team is meeting on training ground six at promptly..." I looked at my watch, "Now, actually. Hey, can I request a sensei?"

Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose. "I make no promises, but you can request all you want."

"Sakura. Or a Hyūga." I shrugged in response to her questioning look. "One of my genin is extremely sensitive to chakra, and the other two need to work on chakra control anyways. So."

Tsunade nodded. "I'll see what I can do. Sakura should be available today, at least. You just focus on your mission. And be careful," she warned. "Dismissed."

***...*.*.

I appeared back at my apartment to pack a bag, and found Aiden still sleeping, though he'd moved up to the couch.

"You're still sleeping?" I asked, gathering up a pack full of extra of anything I could possibly need, ranging from ninja wire to smoke bombs to poison for blades. "Aren't you going to be late for work?"

"Today's my day off," he yawned. "Sushi, now?"

I shook my head. "Mission, actually," I informed him, ignoring the disappointment that flashed across his face.

"How long?" he asked. "Will I have to go pack some extra food for Aisa?"

"No," I replied, opening cupboards to pack some extra energy bars myself. "Solo mission. Aisa and the rest of his team aren't coming. Might take some time, depends on how well it goes. I'd place my guess right now on a minimum of five days."

Aiden nodded, watching me slide several weapons into coat pockets. "Okay then." He took in a deep breath and let it out. "Be careful then, right?"

"Ninja go on solo missions all the time," I replied. "And this one is just intel gathering, surveillance. Don't worry. Nothing dangerous."

"Right. Be careful."

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, yes, of course," I agreed, tossing a pair of gloves into the pack just in case the mission moved into colder territory. "Always am."

"Sushi when you get back," Aiden demanded, no question in his voice this time.

I hitched the back pack over my shoulders and placed one hand on the door handle. "Sure," I agreed easily. "You're buying, though."

With a smirk, I left before he could protest.

***..*.*.

I ran along the branches with ease. The weather had been gloomy, rain pouring relentlessly from the sky, and, despite the sun gleaming brightly in the sky, I was still damp. I paused for a moment in the shadows created by the sun, studying the forest closely. The first step was to find out if Orochimaru really was dead.

I glared back as I sensed one of the ANBU draw too close; they were still tracking me, of course. Four new ANBU to replace the old unit which had been severely crippled in the last fight with the Claws. However, I'd ordered them to remain as far away from me as possible in order to minimize the risk of them fucking up my mission.

Babysitters.

It was a necessary precaution, I knew, but one that grated at my nerves. At least now that I didn't have my idiotic genin here I could envision myself as a squad leader for the ANBU instead of being guarded by them. It really was true, though: if a Claw attacked, I would take charge, order the ANBU into formation, and basically be a leader for them.

At least this time, if a Claw attacked, I could fight as I'd done before, more ruthlessly, not being held back now that my stupid little genin weren't around to provoke them.

Once a few hours had gone by, and the sun's position had given away the time of around noon, I found a clearing and stopped travel. I bit into my thumb and touched the ground, muttering the words "summoning jutsu".

Eight small spiders appeared. Perfect for scouting and gathering intel so I wouldn't have to be the one entering into Orochimaru's lairs, which would certainly be filled with thugs and traps. "I need you to find out some information for me," I ordered immediately, skipping the greetings. "Orochimaru had underground hideouts. Find them, and if you can, confirm his death."

One spider scoffed arrogantly. "If you can," he mocked.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes; their attitude certainly hadn't changed much. "Report back as soon as possible," I dismissed. They scurried along, separating and soon out of my sight.

Now, until the spiders returned, I would work on the assumption that my intel was good and Sasuke had killed Orochimaru. Now, what would he do next? Sasuke enjoyed power. Control. He wanted to be strong-he would certainly have nearly unachievable goals in mind for the future. The genin I had known would have struck out alone, convinced of his strength in solitude, and then failed. I'd heard rumors of Sasuke, though, and if he had killed Orochimaru... he would have needed to be smart, not just strong.

He would gather a team, I realized. A team of the strongest ninja he'd met, and there would be many having been with Orochimaru for over two years. There was a small village near here, I knew, and began to run in the direction I remembered it being. When I drew close, I hopped down from the branches, making sure that my coat covered my ninja pack and no other obvious signs of me being a ninja showed. Then, suppressing my chakra just in case, I entered into the village.

Remembering the speculation that people who entered and left villages without eating were ANBU, I wanderde toward a dango shop, ordering the basics. A casual restaurant was a good place to hear the town gossip, as well.

Did you hear? That Uchiha killed the greatest Sanin.

I snorted. Debatable. If he was the greatest Sanin, why was he the first to die?

Orochimaru is dead.

It was looking more and more like Sasuke had killed Orochimaru.

That Sasuke Uchiha is a murderer-a rogue. And his brother killed the entire Clan.

Good riddance, I say, if the only two alive turned out like this. Imagine if there were more than two!

Did you hear? He came through here, they say! Apparently he had someone with him, too!

An accomplice?

Maybe something more.

Well, either way, I wouldn't want to cross paths with him.

I smirked. Looked to me as if Sasuke had made a name for himself. Finishing my tea and dango, I threw some change down before leaving; the spiders should be done gathering intel, soon. I leaned against a tree, collecting notes when I noticed the eight spiders scurry towards me.

"Cashile," the first greeted for them all, cold and calculating. I nodded my greeting.

"It is confirmed that Orochimaru is dead. Sasuke has been sighted in the Land of Waves, with a companion of sorts. They seemed to be headed south from their last known location."

I nodded. "Very well. I'll -" I cut my sentence of short and stiffened slightly. The presence of the four ANBU had been cut off in an instance-no warning, no time; just gone like a candle's flame in the wind.

Several possible paths flashed through my mind, and in an instant I chose one. "Listen," I addressed the spider urgently. "Speak with your leader, Doku. If you hear no word from me within 12 hours, or if my chakra reaches dangerously low levels, have me reverse summoned. Understood?"

"As you wish," the spider answered gravely, before disappearing from the dimension. I cursed silently. I had a contract with the spiders, yes, but it was a tenuous one at best. If they turned their backs on me now...

Well. I suppose I would find out soon enough.

_-$:8/8-&-$-$-$-$:$-$-$$-8/$/?/$-

Ta da! Another update!

I most definitely failed my AP Calc and AP Physics exams ^.^ so I am slowly dying inside. Don't mind me.

One exam left! AP French! And next semester I'm dropping AP Calc so that'll be a load off my shoulders! Whoop whoop!

Post long and beautiful comments to help get me through this last exam and revive me from the ones I failed! I seriously need the motivation lol so comment!

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gaara119

Hello! You'll have to excuse the late AN on my part! In the past week I've learned two important things. Firstly- that car maintenance is EXPENSIVE. and second, a reiteration that life is TOUGH.

So right now I'm learning how to change my car battery. Wish me luck!

-S

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Ja ne!

Insomniac_Lullabies


	39. Chapter Thirty Eight - Captured

I crouched on the branch of a tree, studying my surroundings. A claw? Two, perhaps. Three or four wouldn't be surpassing my calculations by much either. Glancing about, I decided to retreat from the forest; they definitely would have an advantage in a fight among the trees. Out in the open, my enemy, how many ever ambushed, would not be able to hide from me.

For a brief moment, I considered retreating, but almost immediately dismissed the idea. I had an escape route (at least, hopefully). If my chakra reached dangerously low levels, and if they didn't hear from me within twelve hours the spiders would reverse summon me.

Hopefully.

I jumped out of the shadows of the forest, turning to face the trees and wait for my enemy to appear.

Finally, after several moments, I spotted movement walking out from between the shadows of trees. They must have been observing me, knowing my expectancy for their attack. I narrowed my eyes, studying my enemy closely, as it revealed itself.

It stopped around five yards from me, and neither of us spoke, opting instead to study one another. The Claw was the first to speak.

"You killed Chuku," the Claw informed me.

"Ah," I murmured, empty blue eyes flashing in my mind. "So that's what you called him. 'Hollow'. Fitting. Do you know what they called me?"

The mask gave nothing away, but after several moments, the Claw conceded, "Mujōna. Soulless."

I nodded, a smile that looked nothing like a smile gracing my face. "And what do they call you?"

Reaching up, the Claw grasped Its mask, and slowly removed it, revealing Itself. A burn disfigured the right side of Its face, pulling down Its eye where no eyelashes or eyebrow grew, smooth pink skin discoloring the cheek below it. Its short black hair didn't grow in a small strip just above It's equally burnt ear. Finally my eyes locked with hers—Its, Its, Its—golden hazel eyes blazed with hatred, so different from the boy's empty blue orbs of ice. "I am Honō."

"The flame," I murmured . The Rising Phoenix certainly had a cruel sense of humor.

"They only sent you," I mused, thoughts backtracking to the two claws they'd prepared just for me.

"I am all that is necessary to capture Mujona," she intoned. She truly believed that she was good enough to take me on alone. And the rising Phoenix thought the same, meaning that I would have to be on my guard.

I slipped the twin blades out of my sleeves and crouched in a low fighting position, knowing that no more words would be exchanged.

The claw raised it's own sword and lunged, smooth and calculating. It slashed in an upward angle, one that would be hard to block.

I brought my right blade down in an arc, meeting the Claw's sword and halting any movement. It flung several senbon toward my neck, and I had to disengage in order to duck beneath the needles. She followed up her attack with a sharp downward strike and I rolled toward her, swiping at her thigh. She twisted away.

I narrowed my eyes. Something was off about this fight. Something strange. The Claw lunged at me once again, and I carefully analyzed every move. What tipped me off? What made me think that this fight was different than any other?

She threw more senbon in my direction, and realization struck. It was the senbon. Or, more exactly, where she was aiming with them.

She wasn't trying to kill me. She was trying to incapacitate me.

The needles probably also had poison on them so if she missed the pressure points I would still be defeated. There were a million different ways this could go. But I had my strategies planned. It was time to carry through. There was a 82% chance that She would want to speak with me. I could still prove a valuable asset to the Phoenix. It spoke volumes that I was still alive, after all.

So the Claw would have stored some sort of poison, or drug to knock me out, probably on the senbon and perhaps in a hypodermic needle, as well. I would have to give her an opportunity to use it.

She was a good fighter. It wouldn't be hard to give her an opening.

But that didn't mean I had to make it easy. I did have a reputation to uphold, after all.

The Claw left a slight opening and I pretended to fall for it, lunging toward her left ankle with a blade. She sidestepped, and several senbon sped toward me. I twisted, one hand landing on the ground to propel me away as my feet left the ground. I allowed my left leg to trail, hiding a smirk when I felt one of the senbon pierce my skin.

I would be able to fight the drug for longer than most, and it would take longer to effect me given it's entry point. But the Rising Phoenix would have taken my resistance into account and given the Claw a more potent dose.

To summarize, I had maybe a minute left with full control of my limbs. Assuming that my predictions were correct and I hadn't just been dosed with a poison I wouldn't be resistant to.

The Claw attacked-clever, keeping my heart rate elevated so the drug would effect me that much quicker-and I parried, on the defensive now that she was coming at me on pure offense. I managed to retaliate by sneaking in two blows: a slice to her side and a shallow stab in her upper left arm. But by then I could feel the drug coursing through my blood, my reactions slowed, and my defenses slipped.

My last thought was the hope that I hadn't made any miscalculations.

Then the pommel of her sword slammed into the side of my head and I passed out.

***...*.*.

When I woke, I was restrained, as expected. But I also wasn't numb from cold, and I would take what I could get.

I took a deep breath, and scanned the room best I could, subtly testing the restraints even though I knew they would hold. The Rising Phoenix would probably wait several hours until entering this room, allowing me to torture myself with thoughts and worries and predictions of what was to come.

Too bad for them. I wasn't that easy to crack.

But then the door opened, and I had to hide my surprise before understanding hit me. Of course. They knew what I would be expecting, and would do their best to not meet my expectations.

Slow clapping echoed through the silence as she walked into the room. On her face she wore a smile which was anything but pleasant. I didn't bother to say anything to the woman who had taken me, tortured me, broken me. Turned me into nothing. Instead I opted to observe her carefully, giving nothing of my own away.

I still had many theories of why she wanted me alive.

She walked up to me, glancing at my restraints with some what of a smirk of victory, and tapped the side of my face with cold fingers thoughtfully. Then she drew her fingers down until they were resting along my ribs, and I knew exactly what she was drawing my attention to. Internally, I grit my teeth. Externally, my face remained blank. "Do you remember the day you got this?"

I was silent until it became clear she was waiting for an answer. I considered the possibilities for a moment before answering, "Yes."

"You were broken, by then," She said, expertly inserting a fond note into her voice as though she were a mother remembering her child's first day of school. "I didn't even have to restrain you. I just ordered you to not move and you didn't, even when your skin was smoking. The metal was so cold it burned."

I let out the breath I didn't recall holding, reigning in my emotions tightly as her fingers moved back to my face. "I recall," I replied dryly. "I was there."

"No you weren't," She snapped back, nails digging into my skin. I didn't flinch. "Mujona was there. You weren't."

I shrugged best I could against the restraints. "Same thing," I replied with an intentional casualty.

She glared at me and grabbed my chin harshly, forcing me to stare back into her sharp grey eyes.

"We'll see what we can do about that."

***...*.*.

The mind was the greatest weapon. I had learned to use my mind for me at a young age-I'd needed to, to survive. It was the one thing I could rely on; where my body failed, my mind could continue.

But the Rising Phoenix knew how to use my mind against me.

The mind- where creative juices began to form, where thoughts matured, where actions and words and memories flowed, creating value and sentiment and warmth. The mind- where the base of one' existence lay. Where the line was drawn between fantasy and reality. Where thoughts and words could turn into hallucinations and one's worst nightmare. The mind- a tool that, once harnessed, was a weapon of mass destruction.

And yet here I lay, unwillingly willing to give up control of the one thing I owned that was me.

"Have you given up all hope yet, Mujona?" She asked, sneering menacingly, the name a reminder of all that I no longer was. If I was Mujona, now, this wouldn't bother me. I wouldn't care, wouldn't worry, wouldn't feel this pain. I would be soulless.

But I had taken this risk for a reason. I had a way out, if needed. The possibility of learning something-anything-was worth it.

I didn't bother trying to escape the cold, hard restraints that pressed sharply against my wrists and ankles. - She had tightened them. She had dropped the room temperature. She was trying to break me again.

My body was bruised in multiple locations. A sharp pain bit into my wrist, and I knew it was probably fractured. This was nothing major, though-just a warm up. I was, despite what She may have thought, in control.

"Screw you," I replied vindictively. A smile formed on her face. Not a genuine smile, but a malicious smile that allowed me to read her. Read her thoughts and her plans for me.

She had set the knife down, which meant the physical attacks would stop- for now. So temporarily, my physical body was safe. That was something, at least. But my mind, I had to be prepared. I had to fight it off, fight her off. I needed to make her slip, somehow, some way, to give up information, give up her plans.

The Rising Phoenix was clearly planning something big. And I had to figure out just what it was.

But first, I had to survive this.

Knowing what she was about to do, I closed my eyes and thought back to the time when I was lost. When all hope had been forced out of my. When I was nothing but a tool. A bad bad tool. There had been a light within all the darkness inside of my head. It was the one memory that kept me grounded, that kept the pain away. It was Aiden.

And I could do the same thing. I could fight her off by clinging onto the one memory that had brought me back before, grounded me to my... humanity.

Then it began.

***...*.*.

There he was. Aiden, laying still against the grass, blown gently by the wind. The sun lit the sky brightly, and he was smiling, appreciating the smell, the sound. Everything.

I approached him and lay down on the grass beside him. He hummed, and started to pick at strands of my hair like he had done a thousand times before. I didn't dare relax, and Aiden picked up on it, scanning the horizon for some sort of approaching danger.

Everything changed in a moment. The air became heavy, tense. The smile on Aiden's face turned into a frown and he tensed, flinching away from me and accusing me with his eyes.

"What are you doing here?"

My throat closed. This was part of her mind games. It had to be.

"People are after you," Aiden accused. "You're putting me in danger."

"No," I replied with certainty I did not feel. "You are not real-"

"Maybe not, but he is, and you're putting him in danger! You shouldn't have ever come back!"

I knew that this was all Her. She was smart, yes, but terribly unsubtle right now. Somehow, with this knowledge standing strong in my mind, Aiden deflated, the angry glare disappearing.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"It's fine," I replied shortly.

Aiden's eyes grew guarded. "We have to go," he warned me. "She'll find this place, if we stay here."

"Okay-okay," I allowed him to grab my hand and pull me closer, pull me away from the tree and towards the sunset. After a few minutes of wandering, I stood my ground, confused. "Aiden?"

But Aiden didn't hear me.

"Aiden?" I came to a sudden half and yanked my arm from his grasp. He swung around, terror in his eyes. "I'm sorry." I saw the swing, but for some strange reason, I couldn't move. I couldn't react. I could only accept it as Aiden's knife made contact with my skin, breaking and going in deep.

I coughed blood violently, looking at Aiden with shock as I choked, grasping my throat, and fell, bleeding out on the grass, staring into his eyes full of nothing.

***...*.*.

I gasped to life and took a huge gulp of air, craving oxygen to flow in my lungs.

"Hey-you alright?"

It was Aiden. He was here. He was with me, laying in the grass, on our hill. It had all been a dream. A bad bad dream.

The mission, the attack, the rising Phoenix, Her.

"I'm fine," I whispered, allowing him to pick at strands of my hair, tangling his fingers in and running them through.

"No you're not," Aiden replied, an unfamiliar darkness creeping into his voice.

"What?" I asked, surprised. But before I can react-why can't I react?-Aiden had a knife in his hand and-

***...*.*.

"Are you okay, Cashile?" Aiden questioned softly.

I blinked, darkness clearing from my vision. "I... what happened?"

"I think you had a panic attack," Aiden replied. "Do you need anything? Tea?"

I hesitated. "...please," I finally agreed.

He returned soon with tea, and I took a sip, the liquid burning more than it should. I choked, trying to spit it back up, reaching to Aiden for help, but he's just standing there, dark eyes burning with nothing, an empty smirk on his face. He wouldn't do this to me, he wouldn't, couldn't-

"Couldn't?" not Aiden asked, raising his eyebrows in mock surprise. "I've killed before, Cashile."

I'd guessed as much, but hearing it from his lips was so different from knowing it in my mind.

"I've gotten everything I could from you. A ticket to Konoha. Your house. Your money. You fucked it all up by coming back to life. So I'm fixing that."

I tried to convince myself that the tears coming to my eyes is from the burning spreading through my entire body. Aisa is there, too, suddenly, and Aiden rests his hand on his little brother's shoulder. "You fucked it up for us," Aiden repeated, but I'm not listening anymore because this wasn't real. Because Aiden didn't swear in front of his little brother.

I scowled even as my mind tried to convince me I was dying from poison at Aiden's hands. She had used my mind against me. She had turned them, Aiden and Aisa, into my greatest weakness. She had turned them into my fear, into my enemy.

But now that I recognized this loop she had created to keep me stuck here, stuck in my mind, forever, I could fight back. I could win.

***...*.*.

I woke with a silent breath, eyes narrowed at the woman. She hadn't even come close to breaking me, even though I faked more distress than I actually felt. I still hadn't discovered any new information by sitting back and passively observing. It was time to get a little more involved.

"I know why you were so desperate to kill me," I told the woman casually.

"Obviously," she replied, hand hovering over several torture devices before choosing a small blade. "You knew quite a bit. And you didn't kill yourself, so you may have leaked information.

"But see," I smirked viciously, "I discovered something. Something you're desperate to keep silent. That's why you keep sending Claws after me: you know any information that I have has been given to Konoha. But what I've discovered is far more important, and you want to destroy the message before it truly spreads."

"Oh?" the woman raised an eyebrow, all careful nonchalance, but I knew that I had her. "Is that so?"

"Yes." I grinned with bloodstained teeth.

"And what would that be, then?" she casually allowed a blade to rest on my arm, and that threat showed just how much I was getting to her.

"The Rising Phoenix is vulnerable," I replied, triumph in my eyes. "Your Claw escaped from you, survived, fought off every following Claw's attempt, and still has escaped unpunished."

"Unpunished?" She questioned daintily. "Escaped? Is that so?" She allowed the blade to dig into my arm, just below my elbow, but I didn't even flinch, knowing that I had gotten to her. "Does this seem like escape, to you? Let me tell you: any message you think you've sent out with your impetuous survival will be overcome by what The Rising Phoenix has to say." She dug the blade deeper into my arm until I knew it was no longer a surface wound but would leave muscle damage. I'm releasing my chakra as quickly as possible, wondering what the spiders would consider "dangerously low" as she continued to twist the blade into my arm, gloating. "Nothing can stop a fire once it burns too hot," she warned in a drawling voice. "And the flame will burn the leaf to the ground."

And then she was gone-or, more exactly, I was.

One thing was for certain: the spiders sure had a penchant for dramatic exits.

_-9,62)!: .97,_

Hey guys! Sorry it took so long to update :( We wrote a pretty long chapter though so

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you guys enjoyed! Please comment! Comments are super inspiring!

Thanks! Sorry for the wait! Comment super long and inspiring comments so we can update quickly!

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gaara119

Hey guys!

We updated! Finally. College has been a bit of a load, so sorry for the delay! But hey look at that long chapter! Longer than usual at least. What do you think about the torture seen? About Cashile allowed a "weakness" (Aiden) into her life and recognizing it as weakness?

Comment! Thanks for sticking w us!

-S

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Ja ne!

Insomniac_Lullabies


	40. Chapter Thirty Nine - Return

I reappeared in the Spiders' territory, and I was up and spouting directions before the smoke even cleared.

"I need you to send me to the Hokage's office!" I snapped in an urgent manner.

"Get there yourself," one spider grumbled. I glared, but before I could insult the creature another spider cut me off.

"As you wish," a deeper, more authoritative voice spoke.

I disappeared immediately from the spiders' cave and coughed as the smoke cleared, mangled arm limp at my side. Glancing around, I smirked internally: seemed like I'd inadvertently crashed on a genin team's mission report. A fairly new genin team at that, judging by the way one of the kids fainted. Even the jonin sensei paled, and I realized that I was dripping blood from my arm onto the floor of Tsunade's office.

"Sorry 'bout the blood," I offered.

Even Tsunade looked shocked but my words seemed to snap her out of it. Uttering a curse under her breath, Tsunade ordered the genin team to leave. "What happened?" She snapped.

"Well, from what I gathered, Sasuke has killed Orochimaru-though I wouldn't be surprised if he came back," I warned. "You know how he is: plans and back up plans. Then I received evidence that Sasuke was gathering a team. I would bet on him gathering three to four members for this team. Probably three others; that's the number that he would be used to commanding-me, Sakura, and Naruto. I can give you the most likely individuals to be a part of his team if you give me a little time. I have about thirty people in mind right now. I can narrow it down more."

"But what happened?" Tsunade repeated, glancing to my arm. "In fact, come here now."

I walked over, stretching my arm out at her prompting. "Captured by The Rising Phoenix. You should send someone out to recover the bodies of the ANBU, by the way."

Her hand squeezed slightly on my wound and I hissed in pain, glaring at her apologetic look. "Captured by the Rising Phoenix? How long has this wound been exposed?"

"Yeah," I answered. "Not long. Maybe ten minutes, tops?"

She nodded, further examining the wound. "This is deep," she mumbled. "And fairly messy. Shizune!"

Her assistant came in, and after some discussion they began to heal, and I winced at the feeling. Thankfully, my wrist was only fractured, so they didn't need to snap it back into place.

"You'll need to wear a cast around the bandages," Tsunade said, a warning evident in her voice. "Even after healing, the bone and ligaments will be weak."

I didn't have it in me to argue. A cast would cause optimal healing time and faster recovery, and I had work to do.

"About the mission-"

"We can discuss the details later. Right now you need to go to the hospital and get your wrist casted. You are to resume your regular duties as a sensei and lay low for the time being. Am I understood?" Tsunade asked.

I bit my tongue. I had been hoping to continue my solo mission. I was doing just fine. I did everything right. I had a back up plan and I got out of their alive with intel. And I was being punished for that?

I cleared my throat. "I think it would be best if I continue-"

"You have received your orders," Tsunade declared sternly, daring me to speak up against her orders again.

I straightened immediately at her tone. "Of course." I nodded stiffly and turned on my heel to exit the room.

***...*.*.

I walked toward Aiden, ignoring the fact that he was working and probably shouldn't be interrupted. He only saw me when I was practically on him and set down whatever it was he was carrying.

I reached out, grabbing his shoulders to turn him to me. "Cashile, what—" he began, but stopped talking when I cupped his head between my hands. I studied his face closely, turning it back and forth before finally staring at his eyes. They weren't empty. They were full of emotion: confusion and surprise and happiness and after several long moments of studying him I let my hands fall away from his face and instead pulled him in for a hug. His hands hovered, confused, for a moment before returning the embrace.

"Would you ever swear in front of your brother?" I mumbled in this shoulder.

"What? No," he denied. "But—why—?"

"Do you want to go get sushi?" I asked, ignoring his confusion

"Cashile, are you okay?" Concern was written all over his face. His eyes widened as he grabbed my arm. "What happened here?"

I glanced down at the bulky cast wrapped around my wrist, replying, "There was a small incident on the mission. But I'm fine-sushi?"

He interlocked his fingers with the fingers of my mangled arm and replied. "Of course, as soon as I get off work. Meet me at the apartment at 8?"

I resisted a shudder. I didn't want to be alone. I glared internally at myself, at my weakness, and shoved it down, somewhere deep, where it couldn't resurface. "Sure, yeah. I need to meet up with my team, anyway. I'll see you then."

"Cashile?" Aiden stopped me before I could turn away. "You're okay, yeah?"

I hesitated, thinking about it, before truthfully answering, "Yeah. Yeah, I'll be fine."

Aiden watched me for a long moment before nodding. "Alright," he agreed. "Okay."

We parted ways without another word.

***...*.*.

I found my team sweating under the tutelage of Sakura.

"Hey," I greeted, and she jumped up with a shriek.

"Don't sneak up on me!" she complained. I raised a judgmental eyebrow and she flushed, quickly changing the subject. "You have some good genin here," she complimented. "At first I was angry that Tsunade was saddling me with babysitting duty, but I'm impressed."

I nodded. "Luckily my mission didn't run too long. What did you work on with them?"

She shrugged. "Basic training for Kento and Aisa, though with an emphasis on strengthening for Aisa. I've been focusing on chakra control as well, with all of them, but mostly with Michiko. You already taught them how to walk on water!"

"Yup," I smirked, watching as Aisa and Kento collapsed, clearly exhausted.

"It's not over yet, boys," Sakura yelled, and both jumped up, clearly terrified of the pink haired girl's anger. "You better give me at least ten more minutes!"

"Where's Michiko?" I asked.

"I'm having her do the leaf concentration technique," she replied.

"Seems a little basic for her," I commented.

"Well, she's also doing it while sitting on a fast flowing river," she grinned.

"So that's why you're not at the normal training grounds," I nodded. "How's she doing?"

"Really well," Sakura nodded. "Her chakra control is exquisite. Not to mention her sensitivity. That could really help you on infiltration missions, you know. We actually discovered something."

"Yeah?" I asked.

"She can release chakra, sense how it moves through an area, and see the layout. It's like-"

"Echolocation, almost," I murmured. "Like a bat."

"Exactly." Sakura turned, watching Aisa and Kento as they practiced their exercises. "It's really impressive."

"Hm. I'm sure it needs work," I sighed.

"It's by no means perfected," Sakura agreed. "She can also get a basic sense of a room using the inhabitants chakra, but doing it that way is "fuzzy", she said."

"She should perfect that, first: on covert missions she has to keep her chakra hidden, not go around broadcasting it," I replied.

"Still, it's impressive."

We were silent for several minutes. "Thanks for the help," I offered.

"They're good kids," Sakura smiled. "Keep it up, Cashile."

I nodded, caught off guard by the civil conversation we'd just held. "Back to work, I suppose," I sighed, heading toward my genin.

"Good luck," Sakura laughed. "You'll need it."

***...*.*.

I knocked on my apartment door, before twisting the knob and letting myself in. Those two really needed to start locking their doors.

Not that it would help much against an attack from a Claw. Or any other ninja with misguided intent. Huh. Maybe they were on to something.

"Aiden?" Aisa called out from his room.

"Guess again," I called out, setting a chocolate cake down on the kitchen counter. After training my team (who complained excessively about Sakura and her methods; they preferred Ibiki's training over Sakura's?), I returned home and baked.

"Cashile!" Aisa appeared in front of me, arms stretched wide.

As per usual, I pressed against his forehead, blocking the hug.

I sighed, "Will you ever change?" I asked exasperated, although my insides did warm a little, for some unknown reason.

A big grin spread across his face. "Nope! How was your mission? Did you get the bad guys? You wouldn't answer our questions during training! Did you-"

"Classified," I stated, cutting him off expertly. "Cake?"

"Shouldn't you be promoting healthy eating habits, sensei?" Aisa asked, but none the less cutting a slice of cake for himself.

I shrugged. "I eat cakes all the time."

He moaned as he chewed the chocolate deliciousness. "This almost makes up for you siccing that pink haired monster on us."

I rolled my eyes. "Where's Aiden? Shouldn't he be back by now?" It was five past eight.

Aisa shrugged. "I don't wait up for him anymore. He comes at all odd hours now days."

I frowned at that. "Alright," I replied. I grabbed a teacup, not my teacup, and started the kettle to boil water.

"Tea?" I asked.

Aisa scrunched his nose in distaste. "No thank you."

I poured the boiling water and dipped a tea bag into the cup, watching the color surface through the water.

In the silence, the knob was easily heard twisting, and the creaking of the door as it pushed open.

"Niichan!" Aisa flung forward and enveloped his brother in his tiny (in comparison to Aiden)

arms. Good to know he didn't discriminate.

"Hey Aisa," Aiden ruffled his brother's hair affectionately. "Cashile and I are going to head out now,.

Aisa yawned and stretched his arms above his head. "Okay," he replied. "When will you be back?"

"We'll just be gone a couple hours. Why don't you head to bed?" Aiden suggested. You got dinner, right?"

"Yeah." Aisa nodded without complaint. "G'night Cashile," he said as he walked to his room.

"Don't forget: training field 5 tomorrow at 0600," I replied, smirking as he groaned, leaving the room.

"Ready to go?" Aiden asked.

"Yeah."

***...*.*.

For some reason, Aiden was acting incredibly... awkward. I watched him from the corner of my eye as I placed my order and he stumbled over his, wondering what had gotten into him. As soon as the waiter left, his gaze dropped to the table, cheeks unnaturally red.

"How's work," I stated more than asked, irritated by his lack of conversation. Was he turning into an idiot on me?

"Fine," he mumbled, drawing his finger through the ring of water left on the table by his glass of water. "How was your mission? How'd you get hurt?"

"The Rising Phoenix," I shrugged, taking a sip of my own water.

Aiden sat bolt upright, seeming to forget his previous awkwardness. "What?!" he exclaimed. "How? Are you okay?"

Rolling my eyes, an amused smile came to my face. "I'm right in front of you Aiden," I mocked lightly. "Obviously I'm okay."

"But your arm-"

"Healed," I cut him off. "The bandages and splint is there just because the bone and surrounding ligaments are still weak. It'll be healed within one or two days or less if I have another healing session."

"Er, right," Aiden agreed, previous awkward air returning.

Shrugging to myself, I took another sip of water. It didn't really matter to me if he was feeling awkward about whatever it was he was feeling awkward about so long as he paid for my dinner like he'd said he would. We sat in silence until said food arrived, and then busied ourselves with the food in lieu of conversation.

A sigh escaped my lips as Kakashi's presence appeared. Aiden gave me an odd look as I snatched up a piece of sushi and stuffed it in my mouth, but I ignored him. If my mouth was full, I wouldn't have to talk to Kakashi.

Kakashi appeared at the open window next to our table, ducking under the propped open shutter. "Hello Cashile," he gave me his famous close eyed smile and I rolled my eyes at him. "Sorry to interrupt..." he glanced between Aiden and me, his eye gaining a twinkle before continuing, "whatever this is. Can we talk, Cashile?"

I gestured for him to continue, still chewing my sushi. Kakashi glanced toward Aiden, a short sigh escaping. "Alone?" he requested.

I swallowed, then immediately took another piece of sushi, dipping it into some soy sauce before stuffing it into my mouth. Kakashi raised an eyebrow at my childishness as if asking, Really?

"Um, I'm going to run to the bathroom, Cashile," Aiden informed me slowly, glancing between Kakashi and I.

"I think that would be best," Kakashi agreed, but Aiden didn't move until I met his gaze at him and gave a nod. Kakashi watched the interaction, waiting for Aiden to travel out of earshot before talking. "Does he need your approval for everything?"

I quirked an eyebrow at him before finally talking. "No, but when some asshole shows up and interrupts dinner after I've had a difficult mission, he does make sure I'm cool with being harassed alone before he leaves."

Kakashi blinked. "Right," he agreed awkwardly. After a slight hesitation, he added, "Sorry."

"No problem." I waved him off. "I assume you're here to talk to me about my mission? Or how Konoha's acting on the intel I gathered?"

Kakashi nodded. "We've decided that with Sasuke gathering a team, his most likely target is Itachi Uchiha."

I nodded. "Agreed. So Konoha wants to take out two birds with one stone . Find and capture Itachi, and Sasuke will come after. Makes sense. But Sasuke does have a head start," I warned.

Kakashi nodded. "We're aware. I'm gathering a team of two platoons."

"Who are you planning on bringing on to the platoons?" I questioned, picking up another piece of sushi.

"Kiba Inuzuka," Kakashi listed. "Hinata Hyuga. Shino Aburame. Naruto, Sakura, Sai, and Yamato."

I chewed thoughtfully. "You'll move too slowly with only Kiba as a tracker," I informed him. "Not to mention one large unit will pick up attention."

"We'll split up," Kakashi told me. "And use my ninja dogs to communicate."

"Makes sense," I agreed. "Naruto is a risk, though."

"He is," Kakashi acknowledged. "But he deserves to be on this mission. As do you."

I raised an eyebrow. "I thought you didn't trust me, Kakashi," I murmured, trying to figure out if this was his idea or if Tsunade had ordered it.

Kakashi sighed. "I trust you, Cashile," he assured. "It's just... The Rising Phoenix is still after you, and... look, Cashile, I'm sorry," he finally admitted. "I'm just worried."

I blinked, sushi halfway in my mouth. That... was not how I'd seen this conversation going. He was worried about me, and that really wasn't much of a surprise, but the fact that he'd just come out and admitted his emotions was... out of character, for him, unless he had really been thinking about this for a while.

I briefly wondered if he'd still care if he knew all I'd done, not just as a Claw, but even here, in Konoha. Empty blue eyes flashed through my mind and I hurriedly ate the piece of sushi already halfway to my mouth to buy myself more time. By the time I swallowed, I'd chosen to diffuse the tension. If Kakashi pursued this line of conversation, there was a chance he would find something out that I didn't want him to.

"I've narrowed down the likely companions to be accompanying Sasuke,"I informed Kakashi.

"Tell me," he ordered, relief clear in his eyes now that the "sharing and caring" was over.

"I've narrowed it down to the top five, though there are others who are possibilities," I warned. "These are just my best bets. They are: Suigetsu Hōzuki. Shinken. Karin. Rokushou Aoi. Kurosuki Raiga. And I believe he would have a three teammates.

Kakashi's eye narrowed. "Tell me everything you know about these people."

With a smirk, I obeyed.

_-8/&-&&:9/9:&:$&/9-0-_*_\\-_-_

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Insomniac_Lullabies


	41. Chapter Forty - Pursuit

By the time Aiden returned, I'd finished all the sushi. He raised an eyebrow but didn't complain, instead sitting and accepting the bill from a passing waiter. "What was that about?" he asked.

"Mission," I replied briefly.

"The one completed or have you been assigned another?

"New one," I informed him, sipping at my tea. "We're going after a member of the Akatsuki. Itachi Uchiha."

Aiden raised his eyebrows in an expression of surprise. "I've heard that name before. Why are you guys going after him now?"

"Because my old teammate is making his move,"I answered. At his confused expression, I elaborated. "Remember the pale kid with the sullen expression? Black hair? All spiky?"

Aiden just kinda shook his head while shrugging. "I didn't see much of your team. I know your old sensei, and then there's the blonde haired kid I was neighbors with for a bit, but..."

"Eh, doesn't really matter," I waved him off. "Sakura is my other old teammate. Pink hair, trained Aisa's team while I was gone on this last mission." Recognition lit in his eyes. Aisa, no doubt, complained about Sakura to his older brother.

"Sasuke is the dark haired one. He left the village without permission to train with the rogue nin Orochimaru. Now he's killed Orochimaru and is hunting down his older brother, Itachi Uchiha, who killed his clan a couple years ago before joining the Akatsuki."

Aiden blinked. Then, "Your team sounds a little fucked up," he admitted. "And so does this village. Why hasn't Konoha caught this Itachi yet?"

"He joined the Akatsuki," I reminded with a shrug. "I guess we couldn't risk antagonizing them."

"But now you can?" Aiden asked, placing the correct amount of money on the table.

"Two birds, one mission," I reminded. "We can get Sasuke and Itachi. Not to mention the Akatsuki is on the move, now; we don't have to worry about drawing a response."

Aiden shrugged. "That makes sense, I guess."

"Yeah," I agreed slowly, something about my explanation nagging at me. Reviewing the conversation, I dismissed the feeling; there was nothing that drew my attention. "I should go back to my apartment," I said, standing. "It's a big mission: I'll need rest."

"Alright." Aiden nodded, falling in step with me as we exited the restaurant.

I quirked an eyebrow when he turned left with me instead of right toward his apartment. "Your apartment is in the other direction," I reminded him just in case he'd forgotten. I didn't think he was that stupid, but you never knew.

"I know," he replied. "I was just walking you home."

I stopped walking, staring at him in confusion. "But why?"

"Uh," he hesitated, as though searching for a reason.

"It can't be to protect me," I thought out loud. "If anything, I would protect you. Yeah, you can fight, but I'm a ninja and much more capable than you. And we just spent several hours together, so it can't just be for my presence. I don't understand."

There was irritation in Aiden's eyes, and I mentally reviewed the conversation, trying to discover what had happened to irk him. I could find nothing but truth, and so shrugged it off. "I don't know," he responded, sounding annoyed. "I just thought you would appreciate it, oh mighty ninja."

I shook my head, mystified, ignoring his childish barb. At least I knew what had irritated him, now. "But it's unneeded and inconvenient for you."

Something in Aiden softened slightly at the words. "Sometimes people will do things for others despite the inconvenience," Aiden told me. "Maybe it doesn't make sense to you, but that's when you should just accept whatever action someone is doing and maybe even thank them for it."

"But-"

"I'm going to walk you home because I want to," Aiden told me. "It's unneeded, inconvenient, but you're not going to mention that. You're going to thank me when we reach your apartment."

"This is idiotic," I replied, but turned and began walking without another word.

By the time Aiden caught up and fell into step with me once more, he almost had control over the small smile that had sprung to his face.

Almost.

***...*.*.

"Alright, listen up you three. I have to go on another mission-"

"Another mission?" Aisa whined.

"Save your complaints," I snapped, annoyed at the whine characterizing his voice. "A lot is going on that is clearly way above your heads, so stop complaining and just accept it."

"It's not going to be Sakura again, is it?" Aisa continued, relentless, he and Kento turning green at the thought.

"Hey, I liked Sakura sensei," Michiko protested.

"Fortunately, and unfortunately." I gave Michiko a pointed look, "Sakura will be on the mission as well. I've decided to give you three individual instructors that will focus on your individual strengths and abilities."

Protests erupted immediately.

"Enough." I said. "Are you... questioning my judgement?" I added an intimidating glare for enhanced effect.

They answered me with silence. I almost smiled at how well conditioned I had them.

"Good." I replied. "Now then, I've set up a special training session for you all today."

And they were all squeals and excitement again.

"We're taking a trip down to the weapons store. Have any of you wielded a particular weapon before? Likes, dislikes?"

Michiko was the only one who responded. "Only a kunai knife, sensei."

"Kunai don't count. I'm talking about an actual weapon, a deadly extension of your body. So, I'm assuming that none of you have before."

They shook their heads simultaneously.

"Any particular interests, then?" I asked.

"I think a sword would be cool!" Kento mused. "I could be all like, whoosh, whoosh! Slash slash slash!" He made sound effects while pretending to wield a sword-badly. I raised an unimpressed eyebrow before dismissing his childishness.

"I want twin blades like sensei," Michiko muttered. I appraised her for a moment before shaking my head.

"You are far too dominant with your right hand right now to even dream of dual wielding blades. See if anything else stands out to you when we go to the shop."

Michiko nodded, but there was an odd, determined look in her eyes. I shrugged it off before glancing toward Aisa from the corner of my eyes.

He said nothing.

"Let me know if any of you feel a specific affinity towards a weapon, so we can start the mandatory training as soon as possible," I ordered, ignoring Aisa's silence.

We arrived at the local weapons store, where I got my scrap metal for training from. "In," I snapped, opening the door. The excited genin trailed behind one another, and I followed. "And don't break anything."

***...*.*.

Kento ordered a sword as he wished, while Michiko and Aisa both failed to discover a weapon. Michiko, though, had a gleam in her eyes that told me she had a plan. I was certain she would never be skilled enough with her left hand to dual wield blades like mine. Aisa, on the other had, had seemed completely disinterested in the weapons-something that honestly surprised me. Weren't all genin-especially stupid little boys-supposed to be enraptured by any type of weapon?

Training and our sole D rank mission was over for the day, and now my team sat on the grounds of training area 6. I stood over them, arms crossed. "Listen carefully. I've put a lot of thought into who will be your instructors in the duration of my mission. No, I'm not sure how long it will take," I snapped, seeing the question written all over their faces. "But listen to your instructor and don't complain. I promise that it will get back to me if you do and that you'll wish my mission had lasted longer. Understand?"

The three genin looked up at me with earnest eyes, nodding profusely.

"Alright. Don't forget these names. It will be your job to find your instructor and introduce yourself. Don't embarrass me. They'll be expecting you tomorrow morning, at 0800. And then your training times will be decided as it fits their individual schedules. If you three happen to have time off at the same time, I expect you to complete some D rank missions. Got it?"

They all nodded.

"Michiko, you will be working with Hyuuga Nimori . He is an expert in chakra control and fighting techniques that utilize chakra."

She smiled and nodded, and I could practically see whatever plan she was working on evolve to fit in this new variable.

"Aisa, I've arranged for you to meet with another sensei. His name is Gai, Gai sensei. He is primarily a tai jutsu user-one of the, if not the, best in the village. He'll see all your weakness and train them out of you."

Aisa paled but still managed a small grin, nodding.

"Kento." I turned to him. "You will meet with Nara Shikamaru. He will be able to give you the guidance you are so clearly in need of right now." I spoke sarcastically but watched his face closely.

He looked unhappy, but hid it well. Probably because I didn't sic him with someone who specialized in ninjutsu, but he could deal with my decision. My intentions were that Shikamaru, being as smart as he was, would lead Kento in a right direction. With consideration to his circumstances, of course.

Not to benefit Kento, but to benefit the team. I would not hesitate to exclude Kento if I felt he could put Michiko, and more importantly, Aisa, in harms way. However, a team of 2, excluding myself, would have a negative significant effect on the outcome of any mission as opposed to that of a three person team.

Kento needed to get his shit together. And maybe Shikamaru could help him where I couldn't.

"Any questions?"

None.

"Then you're dismissed. I suggest you do what you need to do to find your instructors by 8AM tomorrow morning," I finished my lecture.

"Good luck on your mission sensei!"

"Yeah, yeah. Off you go," I waved my hand in the air.

Kento went off on his own, as he had been doing for a while now, practically sprinting away as soon as I'd dismissed the team. Aisa was lingering behind, and Michiko seemed to be waiting for Aisa.

"What do you want?"

"Well..." Aisa looked down.

"Spit it out, kid," I snapped impatiently, already running through a list of everything I needed to do in preparation of this mission.

"Will you be at the apartment tonight? Er, well, before your mission?"

He was so much like Aiden.

And by that, I meant he was a complete idiot. Of course.

"Probably not," I told him. "We may leave tonight and I have things to get done before I leave for the mission tomorrow."

Aisa's shoulders sagged just the slightest bit in disappointment, but I chose to ignore it. Someone had to talk to their temporary instructors about what they would focus their training on while I was gone.

"Now get going, you two," I said. "I've got things to do."

With reluctance, they walked away.

And of course he was here. I refused to even turn around and acknowledge him.

"You know, you're not a terrible sensei," Kakashi commented behind me.

"Of course I'm not," I snapped. "I'm not bad at anything I set my mind to. What do you want, Kakashi?" It was obvious I still hadn't forgiven him.

He ignored the impatience laced in my voice. "The mission, we have to meet be in the hokage's office by 0500 tomorrow. We're leaving in the morning."

"Noted," I replied coldly, walking away.

He followed. "Cashile," he began, falling in step with me. "I was genuinely concerned for you-"

"Save it, Kakashi," I cut him off. "I don't want to hear it from you."

"Then can you get over it already," he finally snapped.

"You're stubborn," I replied.

"And you're not?" He scoffed. We walked in silence for several moments. "My plan tomorrow is to pair everyone with a couple of ninken so we can cover more ground but still communicate.

"Sounds good," I shrugged, responses still short and clipped. "Naruto."

Kakashi immediately picked up on what I meant. "Naruto will also be paired with Yamato and Hinata. They should be able to protect him from any possible threats."

I nodded shortly. "That works."

Again silence fell between us. Then, after hesitating several times, Kakashi began, "Speaking of possible threats-"

"No." I glared at him for several moments before turning away and continuing to walk in the opposite direction.

"Cashile, it's a realistic possibility that I, as the team leader, should be able to take precautions against," Kakashi argued, his one visible eye more worried than angry.

"You don't have to worry," I placated him. "The Riding Phoenix won't attack. Especially so soon after..."

"After what?" Kakashi pushed. "What happened?"

I rolled my eyes. "I was 'captured'-"

"Captured!" Kakashi exclaimed, worry clear in his voice. "When? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Kakashi," I replied, exasperated. "I had a plan. I got out fine."

"Not unscathed," Kakashi realized, pointing to my arm which had only just had the cast removed. I rubbed at the still slightly tender scar. Leave it to Kakashi to notice everything.

"No, not unscathed," I admitted. "But does any mission end without a wound?"

Kakashi watched me closely for several moments before glancing way. I took that as permission to continue.

"Look, they aren't going to attack again so soon. They're preparing for something. Something big."

"Big?" Kakashi asked, eye sharp as he looked back to me. I thought back to the encounter, thought back to the words that woman had spoken. She'd revealed far more than she realized-or worse, she knew exactly what she'd revealed, but was so confident she didn't even care.

Nothing can stop a fire once it burns too hot... and the flame will burn the leaf to the ground.

I stopped walking, turning to look at Kakashi in full.

"I think the Rising Phoenix is going to attack Konoha."

_-_-_.*£|+\€.\

Hi guys!

HOLY CRAP IM SORRRRRYYYY WE WERE SO BUSY WE MADE YOOU WAIT SO LONG THANK YOU FAITHFUL READERS FOR WAITING MOSTLY PATIENTLY BUT WE ARE BACK

I have officially graduated high school!

Which means summer break for me, but I'm also very busy :( I was invited to referee Presidents Cup for soccer which is really exciting but also takes up a lot of time :/ And I was also invited to ECNL weekend to referee so there's that too

and I still have soccer (Districts are starting now) and we might make it to State finals again if we dont mess it up so that'll take up a lot of time

and I have to get ready for college to so THERE'S THAT TOO

Also some good news! I got assigned a Women's Premier League game to ref! So I'll be an AR on what's techinically a Professional game! (womens premier soccer league is the second highest level of womens soccer in the united states).

so yeah. I think that's all the updates I have for yall!

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HEY HELLO HI SORRY FOR THE WAIT AH.

College has been kicking my ass ya'll.

Forget college. The army has been kicking my ass ya'll.

I tore my hip labral & now I need surgery. *insert sob face*

But I got through finals! Too bad SUMMER DOESN'T EXIST. I have classes & Army stuff to worry about. *insert 2nd sob face*

But even though Jackie said it all, thanks so much for your patience and support guys, especially through our incredibly busy times.

Pray surgery goes well!

And pls comment! :)

We love yo comments.

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Insomniac_Lullabies


	42. Chapter Forty One - Discoveries

"And you didn't think to mention this _sooner_?" Kakashi asked, sounding astoundingly annoyed.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I meant to get around to it."

"This needs to be reported immediately," Kakashi said. "You need to come with me to the Hokage's office."

"Don't tell me what to do," I glared at him. "I'm busy."

" _Cashile_ -"

"Yes, I know how important this is. The safety of the village and blah blah blah. But there's also _literally nothing she can do._ She's overbooked, overworked, and understaffed. And she also dismissed me for treatment before I could inform her of what I found out," I replied irritably. "But logical reasoning isn't good enough for you. So go tell Tsunade. I've got shit to take care of," I snapped, cutting him off.

Kakashi assessed me in a terse manner for a moment, before conceding. "Fine. You'll have to explain to Lady Tsunade in greater detail before we leave for the mission tomorrow."

" _That_ I can do."

***...*.*.

I had talked to my genin's individual instructors—though Shikamaru had taken more cajoling than I thought he would—prepared for the mission tomorrow, and eaten dinner.

There was one thing left to do.

When I arrived at Kento's house, I realized that he wasn't home. All the lights were out except for one in the living room, where his father was no doubt watching T.V. and having a beer. His mother didn't appear to be home—she was overworked at her job as a waitress and probably had a night shift.

Kento, though, should have been home and asleep; it _was_ quite late. But his darkened room was noticeably empty.

That's when some clues that had been floating around my notice all suddenly came together. With a scowl I turned on my heel and left.

I had to find my stupid little wayward student.

***...*.*.

I finally found Kento in the kitchen of a restaurant, washing dishes. For a moment, I was struck by how small he was, needing to stand on a stool to reach the sink.

I walked through the back door, leaned against the wall behind Kento, and loudly cleared my throat.

The dish Kento had been holding slipped from his hand in surprise, and I just barely caught it before it smashed into the ground. Mouth closed in a thin line, I handed the plate back to him before stepping away.

He took it hesitantly, glanced at me, then resumed washing the dishes. I remained silent, and finally he asked, "What are you doing here?"

I kept quiet, folding my arms as I watched him wash the dishes. He continuously glanced back at me and finally felt the need to fill the silence, as I knew he would.

"Look, sensei," he began, plunging his hands into the scalding water to hide their shaking, "It's really no big deal. It's just another job. The hours don't even interfere with training or missions! 9 pm to 5 am!"

With a sudden start I realized that I quite often made training start at 5 am in order to have the later hours of the day to myself and my own training. All those time Kento had been late and I had lectured or punished him... how hadn't I put the pieces together sooner? I even knew about his terminally ill sister, his overworked mother. I had all the pieces and yet I'd failed to see the picture.

The silence between us was filled only by the clinking of dishes as Kento continued washing. Then, "It's just—" Kento's voice broke, and he took a long moment to regain control of his emotions. "My sister is sick and the hospital bills are _so expensive_ and my mom is already overworked and genin wages just aren't cutting it and my dad—" Kento broke off here again, and I pretended that his shaking shoulders were due to his motions of scrubbing a dish, despite the fact that all clinking had stopped.

Kento turned to look at me, and there were no tears in his eyes when he did. There was exhaustion and hidden shame but so much pride and strength as well and in the face of all that I didn't quite know what to do with myself.

The clinking of dishes sounded like the screams of the ones I'd tortured as I turned and left, feeling as though I had somehow monumentally failed.

***...*.*.

"Listen up, team," Kakashi began. We stood right outside the village gates, drenched from the pouring rain. "We'll be traveling individually in a general area in order to cover more ground. I'll assign two of my nin dogs to each of you to assist in tracking and for safety purposes. Do not, _I repeat,_ " he gave Naruto a pointed look. " _Do not_ engage the enemy. Report back immediately if you spot either Sasuke or Itachi." He turned his strained gaze to me. "Understood?"

There was a collectible group nod of confirmation.

"Naruto, you'll be paired with Hinata and Yamato. Cashile-"

If looks could kill, Kakashi would be _dead_. "No. I said no."

"Cashile, you're a target too. You need back up just in case anything were to go wrong."

"Anyone who's paired with me will just _drag me down_ ," I argued. "And we don't have the manpower to afford two ninja looking in the same area."

He was stubborn.

I turned to Tsunade. "You know how I work Tsunade. I am much more efficient as an individual than a team member. It's my specialty," I continued my argument. "I haven't _really_ worked with anyone in over three years. Not to mention that I made it _very_ clear this morning that the Rising Phoenix would not pursue me any time soon. _And_ if they do, I'll be within a couple miles radius of all these fantastic ninja right here."

Tsunade kept a straight face, but I could see conflict in her eyes as she glanced between Kakashi and me. Finally, she let a sigh.

"Cashile will not be paired with anyone." She finally declared.

I frowned, sensing a looming "but".

"However, Kakashi will create a shadow clone to accompany Cashile, who will report back immediately in case of emergency."

"Tsunade—" I started protesting at the same time as Kakashi.

"Am I clear?" Her voice spoke volumes of how clear she was.

"Fine." I turned away sullenly, arms crossed. I could ditch a clone without a problem, need be.

"Understood," Kakashi replied. He looked about as happy as I did. The sign of a true negotiator: no one ends up happy. Kakashi turned to the rest of the group. "Ready?"

He was met with a definitive silence - excluding that of the pouring rain.

"Alright. I order the pursuit and capture of Itachi Uchiha. Be smart and stay safe!" Tsunade declared with an authoritative voice.

On her orders, we began running- I begin running in a different direction. The direction of Sasuke's likely location- information I had gathered during my own mission and infiltration. Our mission as a collective unit was to find Itachi, to capture Sasuke, but with my own information, I had better odds of finding Sasuke himself. So it was decided my mission would be to go straight for the target.

I had my own suspicions about Itachi, however. If I had to predict an outcome, I would say that the group would be able to locate Itachi, but his whereabouts would remain unknown and he would remain uncaptured.

I ran, trying not to be distracted with thoughts of the genin of left behind.

Kento. How hadn't I seen it? He wasn't like me; he was just a child, who couldn't handle stress or sleep deprivation or the demands of being a ninja on top of it all. He had been ranked _number one_ in the classroom in intelligence—and wasn't far behind in other categories. And while it was true that classroom success and classroom intelligence didn't always translate into the field, I still should've noticed.

I should've done something.

But what _could_ I do? I couldn't just go to Tsunade and insist on a raise for my genin. And even if I could, would Kento even accept it? He was prideful, I knew that. He wouldn't want my pity or my help—no matter how much he needed it. I couldn't force him to quit his job for his own good; that should have been the responsibility of his parents. And I couldn't solve the problem at its root: his sister was terminally ill, and Konoha didn't cover the medical expenses of its citizens, only its ninja. And that coverage didn't even extend to the ninja's family.

With a sudden flash of brilliance, an idea came to me. I smirked. It might not work, the plan might be seen right through, but I was fairly certain it would work.

Who could deny a dying girl her final wish of being a Konoha ninja, after all?

Sometimes I was astounded with the simplicity of my own brilliance.

"Stop!" Kakashi ordered, landing on a roof.

We gathered around in order to receive our partners for the mission. When Kakashi glanced towards me I sneered, and with a sigh he made the signs for a shadow clone.

"We'll all spread out from this point," Kakashi ordered. "Use the dogs if you find anything or get into trouble. If you find a trace of Sasuke, do not engage. Understand?" We all nodded. "Good luck."

We all sprang from the roof, Kakashi clone trailing close behind me. It was tempting to just kill the clone right off the bat, but Kakashi would realize immediately if I took such actions and probably use it as an excuse to babysit me himself.

So I continued running in my designated direction, clone trailing slightly behind. As I ran, the air became stiffer, denser. Heavier. Almost like two powerful aura's about to collide- make that _three_. I followed this path. I smirked. I could trust Sasuke to be in the middle of whatever this was.

As I zeroed in on the two chakra signatures I was able to distinguish them and identify the persons they belonged to. The third one, however, presented a mystery. I pushed it to the back of my mind to deal with the problem at hand. I could deal with that later.

One of the two belonged to Sasuke. It had been a while since we had been around each other, but the familiar Uchiha power _oozed_ from his body, and who the hell else would it be?

The other belonged to _him._ The Akatsuki member who killed Gaara. Who stepped on his dead body. The one who prattled on about his form of "art". The one who could never appreciate _my_ form of art.

Deidara. It seemed like I would finally have a chance to kill him, _without interference_ from Konoha and its morals. Its _warmth._

Sometimes, a part of me _missed_ being the Claw. Working alone. _Not having to care._ Not having to answer to anyone. Life was... simpler, as the Claw, if not better.

Then I remembered the rising Phoenix and what they did to me.

What _that woman_ did to me.

"Kakashi," I spoke. No doubt the clone had sensed the power those two were emitting. No doubt he had sensed the initial clash of power. Their battle had just begun.

And _I_ needed to appear as cooperative with the clone as possible. There was an 83 % chance, by my calculations based on several different factors, that the clone would be wiped out as a casualty from the battle. Clones were far less durable than the originals. And by the time the clone died and relayed its information back to Kakashi, it would be far too late.

It would be far too late to interfere with my kill. Because I _would_ be killing Deirdara today. He escape last time, and that was unacceptable. What would he tell us that we didn't already know if I managed to capture him? He deserved to die. He killed Gaara. He _sat on_ and _kicked_ and _disrespected_ Gaara's body and-

-and that shouldn't matter. I let out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding, disregarding the anger and _emotion_ that had filled me. My thought process had just been far too similar to Naruto's for my comfort. It wasn't logical to be... _angry._ Gaara was alive and well. And what did Gaara mean to me anyway?

He was a good ally to have. The highest in the chain of command in the Sand, and on my side. And not a complete idiot.

Deidara, on the other hand, _did_ present a problem. Not only for this mission, but for all future missions as well. Therefore, he needed to be taken out of the equation, and if Sasuke couldn't do that, then I would.

"I sense it. We need to get the others," Kakashi's clone responded. I blinked, having forgotten during my thought process that I had even spoken to the clone.

"I agree," I lied after a moment. "First we should do recon, before you disappear to let Kakashi know the situation," I added carefully. If the clone disappeared now, Kakashi would be here far too soon.

Kakashi's clone hesitated before complying. "Alright. Not too far in, though. The others need to get here as fast as possible. Remember the mission."

Jeez, even his clone lectured. I rolled my eyes for show, but when I turned away, all emotion wiped from my face.

I would show Deidara some _real_ art.

Maybe he would even have a moment to recognize it as true art.

Before I killed him.

-_-_-_-~\€~¥==%[#}!\\!,?_* A hrJakfuejK$/ -

I swear we're sorry lol

we don't do this to you for fun i promise its just as much torture to us

WE HAVE BEEN BUSY

holy crapppp I'm going to college! Move in date is aug 16 and classes start aug 21 :O THATS SO SOOON

In other news I was selected to go referee at nationals! so thats part of the reason why I havent been able to write. It was a blast but very hot and sexism is still very much a thing but ANYHOW.

any advice for a soon to be college freshman? no? You're all younnger than me? okayyyyy.

PLEASE LEAVE LONG AND BEAutiful comments they mean the world to us! we will truly do our best to update soon and you shouldn't have quite so long a wait again lol

sorry thanks COMMMMMEEEENNNT!

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Like she said, we're dying. Lmao.

I JUST got out of summer classes (which I aceeeed) and moving into my apartment Aug 26th, so excited!

I also got two jobs and I'm going to school to become a volunteer EMT w the fire department along w college to become a nurse / or premed (it's undecided yet)

That's my pathetic excuse for not being able to write sorrryyyy guys.

Pls still luv us.

&comment. Pls.

-Supermassiveblckhole

Comment, Vote, and Fan!

Ja ne!

Insomniac_Lullabies


	43. Chapter Forty Two - Tracking

"I sensed the blast around 400 meters ahead," I communicated with the clone, as I was expected to.

"That is a positive identity on our akatsuki member. His chakra signature is the same as well as his power to... blow things up. We need to report this immediately, and _not_ engage," he sent a strained, pointed gaze my way.

I had to play this right for everything to go smoothly.

"I agree, but we should identify the akatsuki's opponent before we turn back," I said. A reasonable suggestion did go a long way in an ultimate plan.

"It's a little risky..."

I raised an eyebrow. "We're ninja."

Kakashi's clone let out a sigh. "Alright, Cashile. We'll do it your way. But _no engaging._ "

I rolled my eyes. "No need to repeat yourself countless times. I am a genius. I'll remember."

"Riiight," Kakashi mumbled. "But will you listen?"

I pointedly ignored the question, instead running toward where we'd sensed the spikes in chakra. I would have limited time to act; I'd have to kill the clone and kill Deidara before the _real_ Kakashi had time to arrive. It would be hard, and risky, but I could do it.

Then, the repercussions of a blast nearly threw me from my feet.

"What the hell?!" I exclaimed, widening my stance as the ground shook. "We're still at least 15 kilometers from the fight! How the hell-"

And then I saw the beam of light.

I closed my mouth, studying it silently. To have a jutsu like that... it was no wonder Deidara was a part of the Akatsuki.

Slowly, the blast died down, along with the tremors of the earth. I continued to watch the sky, eyes tracking the few birds that had been able to escape the blast.

"Let's go," I finally ordered quietly. "There's no way anyone missed that blast. Everyone will be heading toward the area."

Kakashi's clone nodded. We'd both arrived at the same conclusion.

Deidara was dead.

***...*.*.

Kakashi's clone and I were the first to arrive at the blast site. I studied the ground closely.

"Sasuke was here," I informed the clone. He nodded. "There are several different ways I can think of to avoid a blast like this," I murmured, "but I don't know what Sasuke had available to him at the time."

I hear the sound of the clone disappearing, and turn to see Kakashi. "I'm sure he escaped," Kakashi continued the conversation. "But we'll wait for the others here."

I nodded. "So, I'm not gonna tell you I told you so..."

"Hm?" Kakashi questioned, purposefully playing dumb.

"But if I'd had a chance to take Deidara down earlier, he wouldn't have had the chance to do this."

Kakashi didn't answer. I counted it as a win.

Soon the others arrived, and began to discuss the battle.

"Wait," Sakura held up a hand. " _Deidara_ did this? But wasn't he the one who self-destructed..."

"It seems he faked his death in order to escape," Kakashi admitted. I hid a smirk.

"Then couldn't he have faked his death once again?" She asked.

"It's highly unlikely," I replied, " considering the extent of damage done to the surrounding area. Total obliteration. Jutsu's like these don't come without a price."

"Also," I continued. "His chakra is completely gone, aside from what's left of the aftermath of this jutsu. Even if he _did_ survive, it's most logical to infer that he wouldn't have enough energy to hide his chakra to this extent."

"There are other scents," a dog informed, following my explanation.

"It seems Sasuke has formed a unit," Kakashi agreed.

"This lines up with the intelligence I gathered earlier." I nodded. "He probably formed a four man unit, including himself. My best guess of the members would be Suigetsu Hōzuki, Shinken-also known as The Hunter-and Karin."

"Who cares how many there are or who they are!" Naruto exclaimed. "Let's just get moving and track Sasuke's scent!"

"We can't," Pakkun declared.

"What!? Why not?" Naruto demanded.

"The scent stops here," Kakashi explained.

"He must have transported away," I mused. "But he's probably still in the immediate area. If the dogs can't pick up his scent, we just have to continue as we were, but we should start with the blast point as our central location."

"No need," Kiba declared. "Right now my sense of smell is keener than a dog's. I've found Sasuke's scent!"

I raised my eyebrow, analyzing Kiba. The genin of my generation really _had_ grown... more than what I thought was possible for my idiotic class of back then.

"Nice job, Kiba," Kakashi praised. "Let's go, everyone!"

We followed Kiba through the trees, aggressively pursuing the scent.

"If we don't catch up to them fast, we'll lose them. No doubt they're aware of their pursuers." I mumbled to myself. Only Kakashi could here me, though.

Kiba stopped on a branch up ahead, tilted his head back and sniffed the open air.

I scoffed. Of course. What else was I expecting.

"He lost the scent." I stated blandly. I held my hand out, fingers open, and allowed the air to breeze through the openings between my fingers.

Then I snapped my hand close. Inside my hand I held a torn piece of cloth. "I suppose this is what you're smelling, Kiba?"

"Yes." Kiba nodded. "How did you know?"

"Because," I turned to look at the sky once more, "it's exactly what I would do."

"We should split up," Naruto suggested. The smartest thing I've heard from him all day.

"Agreed," I said, scanning the area closely. They threw us off the trail... unless they didn't.

I bit my thumb and created the sign mid-air. "Summoning," I murmured, and three spiders appeared in front of me. Tracking spiders, none of authority who would demand immediate compensation or pose any difficulties.

Kakashi made a choked noise, and I turned toward him curiously. He was staring at the spiders with wide eyes, disbelief clear in them. I wanted to either observe Kakashi further or question him, but if I didn't give the spiders directions they'd become irritated and impossible to work with.

Before the spiders could become too antsy, I turned back, giving their orders. "Disperse," I ended curtly. Between the dogs, the spiders, and Naruto's clones, we might have a chance to catch up with Sasuke.

And since when had this turned into a _Sasuke_ retrieval mission instead of Itachi?

Kakashi seemed to have gotten over whatever had shocked him, falling back into stride and catching up with me. "We'll talk about this later," he promised. I sent him a quizzical look that he ignored. What could he possibly want to talk about? I hadn't disobeyed orders, and I certainly hadn't given him any further ammo concerning my "strenuous control". So what would he want to discuss with me?

"You only summoned three," Yamato noted.

"They disperse in the direction that the scents are strongest. Of course, one direction will have no path to follow. By my calculations they are operating in a four man team. Sasuke is most likely injured from his battle with the akatsuki. One will stick with him, no doubt. Loyalty to their new leader, such _predictable_ behavior. Even _if t_ he other two separate paths to throw us off their scent, they would only create two more diversion pathways. Why waste resources?"

 _He_ didn't know how many deer and rats I had to sacrifice at the end of the year to these spiders for every summoning. So far, I already owed them 200 rats and 20 deer. No need to summon multiple times and rack up my debts.

"Alright!" Naruto nodded. "And I can help, too!" With a sign, shadow clones began to pop up, running off at Naruto's signal. I tilted my head. Shadow clones had always been Naruto's specialty, but they really _were_ useful. They were far more useful to Naruto-his massive chakra preventing exhaustion-then they'd be to anyone else, but still. I should learn the jutsu. These days regular old clones just didn't cut it.

We dispersed, and began the search.

A little while later, we landed next to Naruto, who was staring with wide eyes. Something had clearly occurred, and the only thing that could shock him like this right now was something concerning Sasuke. Yet he wouldn't have let Sasuke go without a fight- a loud one-or without chasing after him. So that left one other option.

"I just tripped," Naruto stuttered awkwardly.

He stuttered because it was a lie. Because the only thing that could shake him up this badly right now, the only thing that was plausible, was that Itachi was just here.

Shadow clones don't leave scents. No one here would know Naruto was lying.

And Naruto wouldn't hide information from his team that would lead to Sasuke's capture, unless...

Had Itachi threatened him? Naruto wasn't an easy scare, but Itachi was more than a formidable opponent.

A spider crawled across the grass and approached me from the west. "I've caught a strong scent. Not just the boy, the strong scent of a companion. This is the direction you want to travel."

The spiders must have used the scent on Sasuke's shirt, detected, separated _and_ amplified a slight difference in scent to that of Sasuke's.

"Good work." I told the spider. I released the summoning jutsu, and instantly, the spider disappeared.

"This way," I told the others. I didn't wait for them to ask any questions before taking off for west. There was a small town in that direction I knew of. A place to recover.

"There's a town up ahead," I informed everyone .

"It's best to assume that Sasuke is injured," Kakashi said to the group. "Search all inns and hospitals when we arrive. We'll meet back an hour from when we disperse, in the place we separate. If anyone finds Sasuke or his team, send a red alarm. Understood?"

I glanced quickly over to Naruto who remained silent, so... _unlike him._

"Aren't you the ninja that never gives up?" Kiba scoffed, provoking Naruto, who was clearly acting out of character.

Naruto thought on it for a second before a grin lit his face. "You're right. We'll find Sasuke!" He made the sign and created more shadow clones.

I rolled my eyes. His idiocy never ceased to _amaze_ me. But all the same we all took off after him, sprinting in Sasuke's direction and hoping we wouldn't be too late.

***...*.*.

I stopped in my tracks and glared in front of Naruto.

"Stop," I called out. A gasp caught my attention. I looked to the other side of me and noticed the Hyuga with the expression.

 _This chakra._

"Ahhhh!" Naruto yelled, falling from the branch he had attempted to land on.

We gathered around Naruto, who had oh so elegantly landed on his ass.

"And there's two, four, six, eight, nine of you against one of me! Now that's just not fair," The Akatsuki member who'd popped up in front of Naruto chattered.

"According to your robe..." Yamato observed, "You seem to be an Akatsuki member."

"Deirdara's partner," I theorized quietly, certain I was right.

"He's not on the list of Akatsuki members we received from Kabuto. Do you have any info on this guy?" Kakashi asked me quietly.

I frowned, going over all the information I'd acquired through my many perusal of Bingo Books and my time as the Claw of the Rising Phoenix. To my surprise, I can up with nothing.

Kakashi watched me, frowning when he realized that no answer was forthcoming. "Alright, so we're going in blind here?"

"Seems like," I acknowledged grimly, devoting only a small part of my attention to listening to and analyzing everything the Akatsuki member said. "We know he's a new member, has a childlike persona, but he was strong enough to escape Deidara's blast, so we shouldn't underestimate him."

"You think he was in the blast radius and escaped?" Yamato questioned sharply.

"I'm sure of it," I replied. "Like we said earlier: they always work in pairs. Deidara couldn't have warned his partner to leave without drawing Sasuke's attention, and even if Deidara _did_ warn him, there would have been little to no time between the warning and the detonation. So he's powerful enough to have figured out another means of escape."

"We outnumber him," Kakashi said. "Right now, the advantage is ours."

"What's this?" the man asked, childlike persona still firmly in place. "Am I being... underestimated?"

I tensed, observing him closely. There was something about him that just felt... off. The last time I could remember feeling like this was when I met the disguised Orochimaru just before the chunin exams; the same feeling off danger radiated off this Akatsuki member, tenfold that of Orochimaru, even-and I was stronger now than I'd been back then. This Akatsuki member was _powerful._

Like hell I'd be underestimating him.

_-_\\_\\\\\|||||||_-\\-_-***...***...*.*.*._

Hello friends

Sorry we've been taking so long on the updates! Our lives have been quite busy, I promise.

I HAVE OFFICIALLY MOVED IN TO COLLEGE AND MY FIRST WEEK IS FINISHED AND IM ALMOST DONE WITH MY SECOND WEEK.

The University of Iowa is really cool! I'm enjoying my classes a lot and nothing is too challenging (so far lol). There is a lot more free time than high school, but I'm sure I'll be VERY busy once everything really gets going.

So that's my excuse for taking so long to update: packing for college, moving in to college, having existential crises, and getting in to the swing of classes. But hopefully now that I (sort of) have a grip on everything we'll be able to write more (though Supes is very sick right now :( so pray she gets better quickly!)

(Also quick university story: I am the official bat catcher for my hall now I caught a bat it was adorable)

COMMENT COMMENT COMMENT PLLLEEASE I know these chapters don't _really_ have a lot to comment on (trust me I know why do you think it takes so long to write aggghhgshelgfdu f ka BUT we are doing our best and this arc is still tres important soo COMMENT for inspiration please!

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gaara119

Hey guys! First week of classes and I've been kicked out of everyone one of them by professors who do not want to get sick.

Flu turned into bronchitis fmllll. But anyways! Comment! :) hope ya'll enjoyed.

Comment, Vote, and Fan!

Ja ne!

Insomniac_Lullabies


	44. Chapter Forty Three - Failure

Naruto's shadow clone was sneaking up behind the masked Akatsuki member.

There was absolutely no way that it would land a hit, but we would at least be able to study the man's movements and fighting patterns.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. Or lack thereof. He hadn't even moved, and yet somehow he dodged the blow? Or was it a clone- a normal clone, with no physical presence? Naruto's attack had somehow gone right through the Akatsuki member.

"You're too full of yourself!" the man laughed gleefully as Naruto went after him once more. "What's a kid like you going to do?"

Hinata gasped as Naruto hit the water of the river. I ignored her and Sakura's subsequent chiding, instead studying our enemy closely. He might be acting childishly, but his movements were succinct, well practiced, and full of power. He was a strong opponent.

"What now?" the man questioned. "Are you trying to analyze my abilities now?"

"He's either so stupid or so confident that he's stronger than us that he doesn't care what he reveals about himself or his abilities," I murmured. "And I have to say: I'm leaning towards the latter."

"I agree," Yamato nodded. "He easily managed to dodge all of Naruto's attacks."

"It's like he's toying with us," Kakashi added. "But what does he want?"

"He's not attacking us," I replied. "Only defending, slowing us down... for some reason, he doesn't want us to catch up to Sasuke."

Kakashi sent me a sharp look. "But why would an _Akatsuki_ member care about that?"

I pressed my lips together. "My theory? Itachi is waiting for Sasuke, and he doesn't want to be interrupted by _anyone_."

"We have to get by him," Yamato said.

"We'll split up," Kakashi decided. "There's no way he can stop all of us at once."

Despite his words, he didn't look too sure.

"Alright everyone, we'll go with formation B!" Yamato declared. I nodded. Distract him with an attack, and then try to get by him. It was a good plan. I doubted it would work.

Naruto joined us, wet but determined. "Got it!" he exclaimed.

"Looks like you're getting serious!" the man mocked. "I'll get serious then, too!"

For our sake, I hoped he didn't.

The moment Naruto was thrown I took off, trying to get by the Akatsuki member. With a sinking stomach I watched him dodge every attack, and then listened as he stopped Kakashi, Yamato, Shino...

I jumped to the side before the man could pop out in front of me, smoothly continuing my sprint. "Ahahaha!" The man laughed. "You're a tricky one, aren't you?"

I dodged again, guessing when and where he would appear, but before I could even land to dodge a third time the Akatsuki member popped up from the ground, swiping at me and halting my progress. I landed and retreated back to Kakashi.

"Unless we defeat this guy, he's not gonna let us through," Kakashi observed.

"Obviously," I nodded.

"Damn it," Naruto mumbled, rubbing at where he'd been scratched by the Akatuki member's attack.

"Well well well, what do you want to play next?!"

"Battle formation A," Yamato ordered quietly. I took a step back, choosing instead to observe. I didn't have a part in this attack, anyway. It was all normal until Naruto passed through the man. There was _no way_ he'd replaced himself with a clone; somehow, he could make himself insubstantial to avoid blows.

How could you win against someone who you couldn't land a blow on?

"Pull back!" Kakashi ordered.

"My counterattack!" the masked man declared, standing upside down on the tree branch. We all tensed, preparing to avoid whatever deadly attack came our way. "Frill necked lizard!"

And then, he allowed his cape to drop , hanging around his neck like the lizard he had named.

Everyone was silent, waiting anxiously for the attack.

I snorted.

Everyone turned to look at me, disbelief clear on their faces. "What?" I defended myself, "It was funny."

"He's just messing with us!" Naruto growled.

"Yeah, and I can appreciate the joke while still being irritated with his general existence," I replied. "By the way, what did it feel like, Naruto?"

"What?" He asked, surprised.

"The timing of the attacks were spot on," I told him. "You guys should have been able to land a hit at some point. But somehow, he... dematerialized himself so the blow wouldn't land. So, I'll ask again: what did it feel like when you passed through him?"

"Uh," Naruto stuttered, surprised. "Nothing. It didn't feel like anything. Like passing through normal air."

"Maybe it's a clone," Sakura replied. "Or a genjutsu that forces us to see images of him."

"No way," I replied. "I kept a close eye on him: it's not a clone. But there's an easier way to tell if it's a clone or genjutsu. Hinata?"

Hinata confirmed what I'd said, and I returned my full attention to the Akatsuki member.

If he was dematerializing parts of his body in order to avoid our blows, could he land attacks when we couldn't?

And where was his dematerialized body going? If it was possible that he could remove parts of his body like his chest or shoulder, from the physical world, but let his other parts remain...

I pulled out my twin daggers and advanced with a picked pace. He'd already proved that he could keep up with my pace, but could he keep up with a _Claw's_ pace?

To a normal eye of a chunin or below, I had disappeared. I focused on his eyes below the mask, and could sense them tracking my every move. My every breath.

Damn. This guy had presence.

I hit him with a stream of attacks, Claw attacks, barely regarding my own body in the forms I was using. It would be worth any cost to even land a hit. Well, almost any cost.

I swiped, kicked and furiously attacked, giving no room for defense, focusing all my energy into the Claw mindset. No one. Nothing. Tool. Weapon. Deadly.

I could feel it. I was pushing him back. There had to be some limit. He dematerialized. He dematerialized again. Then he blocked. He avoided. He was forced to attack and the kick made contact.

"Go!" I heard Yamato shout.

Then the playful attitude was all gone, and for a split second I could feel his power increase tenfold as he suddenly took me seriously. Our kunai clashed, our faces inches apart, and my eyes widened as they locked with his. How...?

Of _course_ it was a kekkei genkai. Of course. A sharingan to be precise. But how? Who? The Uchiha were _extinct,_ save Sasuke and Itachi at the present moment.

Then again, Kakashi had a sharingan. Although _he_ was widely known for it. This guy...

I shook the question out of my head. It wasn't priority at the moment. The priority was figuring out his a jutsu, his power, and a counterattack.

Couldn't Kakashi's sharingan transport objects?

If he could transport parts of himself with his eyes, and he had full control of that, that would make him a very dangerous opponent. And by the looks of what he'd already displayed...

We we're screwed. There was no way we were prepared to fight this enemy. And he was taking us _seriously_ now. It had been a mistake to push him.

"It seems you are a larger threat than I originally perceived," he said, his voice completely changed. "I don't know of any Konoha ninja who fights quite like you."

I noticed the blood drip from my stomach before I felt the searing pain. He had slashed upwards and in a moment, distracted me with the change in character and kicked me back so that I was flying in the air.

I ignored the pain and slight dizziness and flipped myself against a tree, advancing forward again. I had been trained to fight, endure and keep fighting. That was the way Claws were meant to fight. It's what made them so dangerous. Nothing would stop a Claw except for death.

I prepared to continue my advance but was pulled back to the ground by Kakashi. Meanwhile, a new man appeared—he appeared to be partly plant—and announced that the fight was over: Sasuke had won. The two Akatsuki members retreated almost immediately.

"Why did you stop me?" I questioned. "You were to slip past the enemy and continue the mission while I distracted him. We must not fail the mission."

Something about what I said or the way I spoke made Kakashi blanch, and he carefully took a step back, hands up in a placating gesture. I suddenly realized that I was still gripping my weapons tightly, and carefully slid them into my sleeves. My part in the fight was over.

Kakashi answered me carefully. "I won't abandon my comrades. Haven't you heard of the phrase "never leave a man behind?"

"You stopped my attack, Kakashi," I accused, and he seemed to relax slightly at the use of his name.

"You were injured."

"I was in the middle of a fight. Ninja get injured in fights. You do what you must to accomplish the mission. I shouldn't have to tell you, of all people, this," I replied, annoyed.

"You were fighting like a Claw. You don't think I saw that?" I half turn away, ready to dismiss the matter, but Kakashi continued. "Cashile, I _fought_ you when you were the Claw. I remember the way you fought, and how little regard you had for your own body. You would have died to take him down in that mindset. You were injured. I took you out of the fight," Kakashi explained, strangely gentle.

"You're not my teacher anymore Kakashi, and this isn't training or the chunin exams. This is the real world, and sometimes you have to accept an injury for the completion of the mission," I snapped back, wincing internally as I held my injury. I didn't know medical ninjutsu. Thankfully Sakura was here.

"That's exactly what I'm talking about! That isn't Cashile talking; that's the Claw!" Kakashi shouted, exasperated. "Since when have you ever been okay with sacrificing your life for someone else?"

Silence falls around us, and Kakashi immediately looks taken aback as he realizes just what he'd said.

Well, wasn't this the perfect moment for me to play up the false sacrificial lamb card that occurred three years ago? He _still_ didn't know that the Rising Phoenix had forced me to stab myself, and if I had it my way, he never would.

"Right, Kakashi," I replied quietly. "I would never sacrifice myself. Just like you would never leave a comrade behind."

I only allow myself a moment to savor the pain ridden, guilty look in his eyes before turning away.

"Cashile—"

"We should move out. We need to reach Sasuke's first," I interrupted as Sakura began basic treatment of my wound. "Let's go."

"Alright, team," Yamato finally spoke up. "Move out."

***...*.*.

"I can smell them!" Kiba exclaimed. "They've already made it to where Sasuke is!"

I stopped running. "Cashile, what are you doing!?" Naruto shouted, slowing slightly. When I didn't start running again, everyone stopped.

"Cashile?" Kakashi questioned.

"There's no point in going to where Sasuke _was_ ," I explained, emphasizing the past tense. "They got there ahead of us. We should focus on anticipating their next move."

"We might still get there in time!" Naruto yelled, frustration evident in his voice. "We can't just give up!"

"Our energy would be best used in trying to figure out where they're going next, not on chasing shadows," I argued.

"They might just be picking up Itachi's corpse," Yamato pointed out.

I shook my head. "He showed way too much interest in Sasuke. There's no way. Besides, the man has demonstrated that he can teleport away, and on the off chance that he can't take a passenger, the rain will wash away any tracks or scents left behind. We should start searching for Akatsuki hideouts in the area, instead."

"We have to cover all our bases," Kakashi determined. "No loose ends. Come on, let's keep going."

I pressed my lips together, shook my head, and obeyed. But I knew.

Sasuke was gone.

We had failed the mission.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_***...***...*.*.*.

Hi guys

Sorry again for the long wait. We're doing our best I promisssseee

Please comment! We're doing our best to update soon! Comments will give us the inspiration to write despite the homework and projects we've got! So please comment long and beautiful comments!

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Hey guys so sorry, like every semester so far, college is kicking my ass!

But doing my best to write w Jackie and get chapters out there!

Comment!

-S

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Ja ne!

Insomniac_Lullabies


	45. Chapter Forty Four - Checking In

After all his talk about never giving up, Naruto seemed depressed into inaction once we lost Sasuke's scent. When we arrived back at Konoha, he didn't even say goodbye before splitting from the group and trudging in the direction of his apartment, head lowered and feet dragging. I shrugged; not my problem.

"I'm assuming you have the report covered?" I asked Kakashi and Yamato. They both nodded. "Good. I need to check on my team and get a decent meal. See ya."

It was still afternoon, so I wouldn't be surprised if my substitute instructors were still training Aisa, Michiko, and Kento. I decided to check on Aisa first, only because his and his instructor's location was most predictable.

As I had thought, Aisa was with Gai running laps around Konoha... on their hands? I shuddered as I caught sight of Gai; even after all these years, he gave me the creeps. Gritting my teeth, I decided to not delay the inevitable, and jumped down in front of them. Gai, sadly, noticed me first.

"Ah, Cashile-san!" Gai shouted in way of greeting.

I closed my eyes for a brief moment before putting on the fakest smile I could manage. "Gai," I greeted curtly.

"Cashiiiile!" Aisa exclaimed, flipping back onto his feet and running toward me. I nodded in approval when I had to sidestep to avoid his flying tackle of a hug sooner than expected; he'd grown faster in the little time Gai had been training him.

"Cashile, that is quite the wondrous bud of youth you have on your team!" Gai grinned. "Before you know it he will flower into a fine shinobi!"

"I'm... glad to hear it," I responded, studiously ignoring his thumbs up and sparkling grin. "Aisa, normal training grounds, 5 o'clock. Get something to eat."

"Alright! Then you'll tell us how your mission went?" He asked happily.

"Sure, whatever," I agreed absentmindedly, keeping an eye on Gai's antics. He seemed to be doing one armed hand stand push ups.

"Can I have some money for ramen?"

"Don't you have pocket money now that the team is going on missions?" I questioned. "Bad spending habits should be squashed now."

"I know! I'm saving some! And I don't want to go into my savings, but I reeeeeally want some ramen," Aisa wheedled, making a constipated face that may have passed as puppy dog eyes.

"Whatever," I sighed, fishing some money out of my pouch. "But this is all I'm giving you. Don't even think about asking for more."

"Thanks Cashile!" Aisa grinned. "See you at 5!"

I rolled my eyes and sprang away before Gai could challenge me to a race up the Hokage mountain.

***...*.*.

To my surprise and satisfaction, when I was about 50 yards away, Michiko turned sharply in my direction. Her sensitivity to chakra had clearly been further honed. When I landed next to her I purposefully flared my chakra as though preparing for a fight, and she barely winced. I nodded approvingly.

"How did she do?" I asked the Hyuga.

"While she will never come close to the complete awareness that comes with having the Byakugan," the Hyuga began, and I barely stopped myself from rolling my eyes, "Her sensitivity is unique and well honed for a genin. Her perception is acceptable."

I nodded. From a Hyuga, it actually was high praise. "Come to our usual training field at 5. Get something to eat."

"Yes, sensei!" Michiko grinned, correctly interpreting my lack of criticism as my having a lack of things to criticize. She was progressing well. "See you then!"

I gave her a small smile and nodded. "Ja ne."

***...*.*.

I found Shikamaru and Kento napping on a grassy hill. Shikamaru lazily opened one eye when I arrived. Kento remained dead to the world. With a sigh, Shikamaru begrudgingly followed me away from Kento to talk, mumbling complaints under his breath the entire time.

"How was training?" I asked, keeping an eye on Kento over Shikamaru's shoulder. Shikamaru turned to watch him as well, and his face settled into something just a shade of concerned past boredom.

"He's exhausted, you know," Shikamaru told me, voice quiet. "But he tries to refuse help and rest. I only get him to relax with me by refusing to train him until he takes a nap. And once he actually lies down, his exhaustion hits him. He'll be asleep for the next hour at least, and he's already slept for two."

I nodded, a frown slipping onto my face. "I'm trying to address the root of that problem," I told him.

"See that you do," Shikamaru ordered seriously. "It's our job to protect the younger generation so one day they can surpass us."

Silence surrounded us for a moment as his words permeate the air. Then, "Whatever. Want to play some shogi?"

"Sure," Shikamaru shrugged. "This was getting to be too bothersome; how'd you manage to get me to agree to train this kid anyway? Kicking your ass in shogi will make me feel better about all the trouble you made me go through."

"But you'll only feel worse if I hand you your ass," I shot back. "Are you sure you want to risk it?"

Shikamaru flashed me a smirk that almost resembled a smile, and we fell back into easy silence.

***...*.*.

I knocked on the door.

"Enter!" Lady Tsunade called from the other side. I could clearly hear the question in her tone. After all, when was the last time _I_ knocked on her door?

But I needed something from her, and the best approach? Kiss ass.

"Good morning, Hokage-sama," I cleared my throat, skillfully ignoring her skeptical look.

"Good morning, Cashile." She looked at me, waiting expectantly to get straight to the point.

"I have a student—Kento." Psychology dictates that if she knew his name she would be more lenient to his cause. "His sister is dying. They're doing what they can for her but.. it's not looking good. She has a dying wish. A wish to be a ninja while she's still alive."

"Is that so?" Tsunade asked dryly.

"Yes," I nodded. "I know that it wouldn't exactly follow...protocol, for you to make a citizen a ninja, but what harm could it do?"

"What harm?" Tsunade stood, glaring at me. "Here's the harm it could do: next thing we know, every single sick and dying citizen is requesting to become a ninja so they get the healthcare that comes along with it!"

I closed my mouth, which I'd opened in preparation to argue with her. She'd seen right through my ploy. Time to improvise. "It's effecting the outcome of our missions," I tried. "Kento is distracted, unhappy, and it shows. He doesn't get enough sleep, and if he makes a mistake at the wrong time it could get the entire team killed."

Tsunade sighed. "I understand that. But he's not the only ninja who's had to deal with sick or dying relatives. He needs to deal with it, not have his sensei come to his rescue."

I frowned, mind processing her words. I hadn't anticipated a flat out no from her; I thought maybe she would bargain, ask more from me, anything. My reasoning was completely correct: Kento might actually get his team killed because of a stupid mistake made in his distracted, sleep deprived state. I needed to fix this for not only Kento's sake, but for myself and Aisa and Michiko as well.

Kento's sister was dying. Some sort of terminal disease that she would never heal from. But in the meantime, she was just causing strife and stress for her family, draining resources, and putting my team in danger. She was dying anyway. Nothing would stop that. So why drag it out longer than needed?

My frown deepened. His sister's death would send Kento spiraling into grief, causing emotional strife greater than what he was feeling now, putting the team in even greater danger. But, at the same time, he would heal. Right now he was degrading, and there was no chance of his emotional, mental, and physical health getting better until his sister died or she got the healthcare coverage needed.

If Tsunade wouldn't cover Kento's sister's healthcare costs by making her a ninja (it was a beautiful loophole, she should've _jumped_ at it!) then the other option was killing Kento's sister. In the long run, it was the best option not only for Kento, but for the team as well. But if Kento ever found out, or even suspected that I'd had a hand in his sister's death, he would never forgive me. It would break the team even more than his current predicament was.

"Listen, Cashile, I can appreciate that you care so deeply about the genin on your team. Maybe we can work something out."

My eyes snapped to hers and settled into a glare. She's only said no as a _bargaining tool._ I hadn't expected her to use a little girl's life as leverage against me—it was something _I_ would do, not the Hokage of Konoha.

Then again, I wouldn't put it past Tsunade either.

"What do you want?" I asked, playing into her game.

"Oh, just a few minor tasks. you can start with a guest lecture at the academy. I believe the young ones could benefit from a few lessons taught by you."

I scrunched my nose, showing my displease. " _Kids?_ You want me to spend my _very minimal_ spare time talking to little brats?"

"And a few other things," Tsunade shrugged nonchalantly, enjoying her position of power. Several moments passed while I glared at her, trying to find a way to get this back under _my_ control instead of hers. She continued to smirk slightly, and I realized that I had overestimated the responsibility she would feel as Hokage, as a medic nin, and had underestimated how cold hearted and pragmatic she could be when faced with a dying girl. I had not expected her to be so like me in this moment.

"Whatever," I finally snapped. "Do whatever." And with a whirl I spun around, slamming the door behind me.

***...*.*.

I was still fuming when Kakashi appeared next to me on the training grounds where I was waiting for my team.

"So. The spiders." Kakashi didn't bother beating around the bush, instead cutting right to the issue.

"So, the spiders," I snarked, still on edge from my confrontation with Tsunade. I hid a frown as I remembered his sharp intake reaction when I'd done my summoning in the woods; he'd clearly been shocked by the skill I had demonstrated.

"When?" He asked.

"Kakashi, you're going to have to actually complete that question if you want me to answer it," I sighed. Sure, I could extrapolate what information he was after from the incomplete data of his question, but since when did I make things easy for him?

"The Rising Phoenix seemed to focus on training you in taijutsu, not ninjutsu and certainly not genjutsu; probably so they could maintain control over their Claws—over you—despite being experts in taijutsu."

"You're rambling, Kakashi," I drawled, shoving my hands in my pockets so he wouldn't notice their trembling and turning away sharply. "Get to the point."

"So why would they make you sign a contract with the spiders? How would they even know that you had a potential summoning?"

"These feel like rhetorical questions." I rolled my eyes even though I knew he couldn't see. "Seriously, _get to the point_ _already_. My team will be here soon. I need to train them, so you need to _go away._ "

"Cashile, did you sign the contract to summon the spiders as a genin here in Konoha? After they'd already _poisoned you_?"

"So what if I did— _not_ that I'm admitting I did," I hurriedly added. "It's the past. I'm no longer some little genin that you can punish. What does it matter to you if I went back and got the contract as a genin versus if I got it as the Claw?"

Kakashi watched me for several moments, hands shoved deep into his pockets and shoulders slumped in the perfect picture of apathy. His eye told a different story, full of sadness and bitterness and maybe even a little bit of defeat. I had nothing left to say and so let the silence grow around us.

"I guess," Kakashi finally said heavily, "I guess I never realized that you... my genin...I didn't realize you had so little regard for your own life."

I slowly glanced back over my shoulder. "I think we've established that _all_ I care about is my own life," I sniped back, but all the venom had been sucked from my words.

"Right," Kakashi offered me a tired smile. "Right. Look, I better get going if your team is about to show up. Good work on the mission. Let me know if you need any more help with your lightning style, yeah?"

He seemed to be waiting for some sort of acknowledgement, so I nodded. "Alright."

He glanced at me once more, and I tried and failed to understand the emotions that flicked through his eyes. "Take care, Cashile."

And then he sprung away.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_***...*.*...***...*.*...*.*.*.*.

Heyyyyauauwiej.

Guess who wrote this INSTEAD of working on her project due tomorrow?

THIS GIRL.

Haha college is rough this week and I'm gonna pull an all-nighter tonight (or at least a most-nighter) but I still wrote for y'all! You should award me with many many beautiful long comments!

Also y'all should check out my blog that I started (I'll post a variety of things on there but I'm trying to stick to current issues)

Check it out here:  
.com

K I should actually go work on this project now lol byyye

gaara119

Yeah. College is killing me. College sucks. So instead of putting this off like normal...  
Well, outcome.

Tired. Chem hw. Pls comment. Sorry for the barely A/N

-S

Haha Supes is exhausted and yet she still wrote so you guys better comment your thanks because she is the best and I will fight anyone who says otherwise ;p

So comment for us!

Comment, Vote, and Fan!

Ja ne!

Insomniac_Lullabies


	46. Chapter Forty Five - Breathe

I took the remaining few minutes before my team showed up to control my breathing. It wouldn't do to snap at them just because I was angry at Kakashi for always being so _concerned_ and at myself for giving him reason to be. I stiffened and let out a final breath as I sensed my students appear.

"Sensei!" Michiko exclaimed from behind me. "I chose a weapon!"

I turned to face Michiko, who was accompanied by Aisa and a still sleepy looking Kento. I raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" I questioned mildly.

With a grin she nodded, pulling her hands from behind her back and revealing triple bladed claws. I blinked at the weapons before giving her a nod of approval. They were vicious weapons that would give her added reach, and once she mastered them she could transition to a version that would allow her to run her chakra down it.

"Good," I nodded. "Kento, you were planning on using a sword, correct? What type did you end up choosing?"

He held out a sword that was the same style as most samurai used up north. I stared at it for a long moment, and Kento immediately looked worried. "I can choose a different style, if this isn't good, or if you think it's not right for me, I can choose a different weapon—"

"No, it's fine," I interrupt. "I've fought against opponents who used this type of sword, before. It's a good weapon, and a good choice for you, if you learn how to use it properly."

Kento positively glowed under my barebones praise, and I held back a sigh. He needed to stop relying on others for his self esteem and confidence.

I turned my attention towards Aisa , who was clearly - and very awkwardly - trying to avoid eye contact with me.

"Why don't you two try out your weapons," I suggested. "Get a good feel, make a connection. See how they fit into the fighting styles you've already developed. I'll come check on you in a bit, and give you more specific exercises."

"Hai!" Michiko exclaimed, scrambling off with Kento on her heels. They were both incredibly eager to try out their new weapons.

As soon as I saw them begin testing out different movements , I turned back to Aisa, hands on my hips and eyebrow raised. "Is there any particular reason you haven't chosen a weapon, yet?" I asked.

Aisa refused to look up, instead opting to mumble at the ground. I sighed, exasperated.

"Speak up," I ordered sharply.

"I said," Aisa repeated, defiant eyes meeting mine, "why do I need a weapon? Can't I just focus on taijutsu or ninjutsu?"

I blinked. "Of course you can," I began. Aisa relaxed. "If you want to have absolutely no surprises up your sleeve, no tricks that can save you life, and wind up dead, that is."

Asia's head was once again hanging as he muttered petulantly. "Gai-sensei doesn't use weapons."

I sighed again. "Number one: Gai is a master of taijutsu that surpasses even mine when he opens the gates. Number two: you're wrong. He uses nunchaku, and is proficient enough in other weapons to have taught his student Ten Ten, a weapons specialist, the basics. Now, give me your _real_ reason for not wanting to carry a weapon."

Aisa hesitated. Then, "I still remember."

"Remember _what_ , exactly?" I asked, even though I suspected I knew. Aisa was silent for another moment, and then the words just bubbled our, unstoppable, like my question had been the explosive tag to break the dam on his reservoir of words.

"They grabbed me, when I was playing outside and I shouldn't have been playing outside, I know, Aiden told me to stay inside unless I was with him, but it was actually a nice day out for once and it's almost never nice in the land of waves and they found me and they took me and they didn't even knock me out, he just said he would hurt me if shouted or did anything so I just _went_ with him I didn't even fight and they were talking like I wasn't even there about how they were going to take down the g-gang that Aiden was a part of by using me and they said they were going to kill me if they had to and one guy, he didn't like that, because I was so little or something but then the other guy just glared at him and said something and then the guy stopped defending me and then Aiden came and they were holding the knife against my th-throat and-and-and I still _remember_ and it was cold against my throat and it was sharp and he was going to kill me and and and and—"

"Aisa," I cut him off, but he was still heaving and sobbing more than he was actually breathing, yet he was still trying to talk and explain himself to me and for a brief, desperate moment I wished Aiden were here so I didn't have to deal with this.

But Aiden wasn't here, and Aisa still sounded more like he was trying to suck in all the air of the world than he sounded like he was just breathing, so I needed to deal with it.

"Aisa," I repeated, gentler this time. I almost told him to calm down before hesitating. He knew he wasn't calm. Aisa normally didn't act this way. He was probably already berating himself to calm down, and only working himself up more in his attempts to calm himself.

So instead, I decided to address the symptoms rather than the root of the problem.

"Aisa," I said once more, voice deliberately pitched low, emotionless, and informative. "You're hyperventilating. It may feel as though you're not getting enough air, but the opposite is true. You're receiving too much oxygen while not giving your body enough time to retain carbon dioxide. This is why you feel short of breath."

Aisa was still heaving, tears and snot running down his face as he gasped for air, eyes screwed up against the burn in his chest.

"This sounds counterintuitive," I warned, "but hold your breath for as long as you can." He continued to breath harshly. "Aisa," I tried to get his attention. "Hold your breath. On the count of three, okay? One, two, three."

Asia's breathing paused for a precious few seconds before slipping once more into a shallow, panicked rhythm. "That's okay, that's fine," I told him, while thinking exactly the same opposite. I straightened, grabbing him by his upper arm. "Cmon, Aisa, you and I are gonna go for a little jog. Breathe through your nose for me, if you can, alright?"

I started at light jog, pulling Aisa with me even as he stumbled, eyes still closed. They're forced open when he stumbled a second time, and I could see the gleam of unshed tears in them. I continued to run, pulling him alongside me, and his harsh, shallow breathing slowly grows deeper as he is forced to accommodate for the burn in his muscles.

When his breathing seems harsh only from the exercise, not his break down, I slowed to a stop. Leaning against against a tree, arms crossed, I allowed him to take a moment to gather himself, to speak first. I watched his trembling limbs closely, ready to step in if it seemed as though he was slipping back into hyperventilation.

When he finally caught his breath, he straightened and stared at the ground. "I'm fine," he muttered to my unvoiced opinion, still low, but loud enough for me to hear him. That's why I don't berate him for mumbling.

"That's bullshit," I replied, calling him out on it.

He stared into the sky angrily, then looked at me with frustration in his eyes. "Well? So I had a tantrum like a little kid. It happened. It's over now. What can I do but move on? What can I do but be fine? What do I do?" He threw up his hands in anger and allowed himself to fall back so that he was lying on the ground, staring at the sky. "I'm fine," he whispered again.

"Alright," I agreed with a shrug. "Go pick a weapon," I said.

He gave me a questioning look, eyebrows furrowed and mouth slightly open. "What?"

I walked over to him and grabbed his hand to bring him back up. "You said your fine, and asked me 'what do I do?'. I'm _telling_ you what to do. Pick a weapon. Train with it. Fight with it. Fight and make sure you are _never again_ in that position. You hear me?"

I don't know what he saw on my face, but the look in his eyes changed instantly. From self-doubt and fear, to steady, controlled anger and determination.

He took a deep breath. "Alright. Weapon store?"

"That's _generally_ where you go to get weapons," I replied sarcastically, pulling away from him. "You can go on ahead," I told him. "I need to check in on the other two."

"Alright, Cashile!" He exclaimed, always so optimistic and joyful and capable of bouncing back from almost anything. "Thanks!" He sprang towards me, and I barely put up a hand in time to block his hug. He pouted, but turned and ran off in the direction of the weapon shop.

I shook my head, and turned toward Michiko so I could berate her for leaving her side wide open with a careless lunge.

They may have been idiots, but they did learn fast.

***...*.*.

"Free Healthcare? Unreal." Kento stated without a second thought, his tone bitter and exhausted and embarrassed.

"You heard me. Free healthcare for your sister. On _one_ condition." Kento had way too much pride to accept the free healthcare without working for it, but at the same time he was desperate.

"See? _Not_ free," He grumbled, but his shoulders lowered slightly from their defensive position and he raised his head slightly.

"Shut up. You stop working all those other jobs you have, god knows how many that is, at this point. Make the time, the mission, your first priority. Progress. Excel. Do _better._ That's the condition. Now, do you want to help your sister or not?" I raised my eyebrow, questioning him, provoking him to argue with that.

It was a pretty sweet deal considering _he_ didn't have to pay the price for it. But if he knew I'd accepted the hokage's offer he'd be distracted by his guilt, his pride, and all those other emotions he hadn't yet learned to lock away. Emotions that inhibit performance and advancement.

Because he had been ranked _number one_ in intelligence when he'd been in the academy. And sure, smarts in the academy didn't always translate to smarts in the field, but he had been showing no promise; just a slightly above average ability to think things through.

Because he was exhausted, and stressed, and overworked. And no one could perform optimally under those conditions. I had the opportunity to take away a large portion of his burden for a small sacrifice on my part. Sure, I hated that Tsunade manipulated me into doing what she wanted, but the other option was Kento overworking himself to the point where he made a fatal mistake, which would effect my entire team, myself included.

So yeah. I'd taken Tsunade's deal.

There weren't tears in Kento's eyes, but there was a faint tremor in his shoulder's that betrayed his emotions. "Okay," he agreed softly, voice earnest and thick. He breathed in deeply and let it out, only slightly shaky. "Okay, sensei."

I nodded curtly and turned away, planning on hunting Aisa down to see what weapon he'd chosen. He still hadn't come back, and I had just released Michiko and Kento for the night. Before I could disappear, though, I heard Kento whisper, "Thank you." His voice was earnest, heartfelt, and said more than his words did. I glanced back.

"Don't be an idiot, Kento."

He was smiling when I left.

_~\|€\\{^_+£?}?\\+_%,}?€\\*_#='/—_-***#*|||||||_

Helllooo friends!

Life has been incredibly busy, and we haven't updated in a while, but here's your proof that we ARE working on writing still!

College was pretty crazy the past few weeks, as was work. I had a load of proojects and papers and exams all due so that's fun. (I had a 7-8 page paper that I had all semester to work on. We had to read a book and analyze it and write our own thoughts on it. Didn't start writing until the night before. By night, I mean 10 pm. BUT HEY I GOT IT DONE AND YES I PROCRASTINATED BUT I TRUST MY WRITING PROCESS)

yup so life has been busy but thanksgiving break is right around the corner! But I still need to study and shit over thanksgiving break BUT WHATEVER we'll try to write another chapter for y'all!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! A little bit of development between cashile and her team yeee.

COMMENT PLS COMMENNTS ARE MOTIVATINGGGG

gaara119

Alright guys I'm tipsy and at a basketball game so AN for me is going to be pretty short.

Hope you guys enjoy!

~Supes

Comment, Vote, and Fan!

Ja ne!

Insomniac_Lullabies


	47. Chapter Forty Six - Scars

I wandered into the weapon store, searching for Aisa. He hadn't come back to the training grounds, and I thought that he might have chickened out of buying a weapon or was still here contemplating which one to buy.

Instead, I found him sitting on a stool and chatting with the store owner, sipping some tea, with tonfas lying on the counter in front of him.

I nodded to myself: tonfas were a good choice of weapon for Aisa. He was good at taijutsu, but lacked the strength to stand up to strong attacks or deliver his own devastating blow. And if he went up against an opponent using a weapon with longer reach, the tonfas would compensate.

But that still didn't explain why Aisa was here, chatting and drinking tea, instead of out at the training fields practicing with his new weapons.

I cleared my throat, and Aisa spun around on the chair to face me, thankfully not spilling any of his tea. "Oh! Cashile-sensei!" He exclaimed. He glanced out the window and paled as he realized how much time he'd wasted. "Um, I chose tonfas!"

I raised an eyebrow. "I can see that," I replied slowly. "I don't see why you aren't _practicing_ with them, though."

Aisa gave an embarrassed laugh, rubbing at the back of his head. "Well, you see, I came here immediately, but I wasn't sure what weapon to choose, so Fudo-san," he waves at the owner, who offers me a wizened smile, "offered to help. Of course I accepted, and eventually we agreed on tonfas as the best choice for me, and I asked for advice with them, and eventually Fudo started telling stories—did you know that he knew Madara Uchiha?!"

"Is that so?" I asked skeptically.

Aisa visibly deflated at my tone. "Okay, like, he didn't _know_ him, but he was in the village and _saw_ him!"

I glance toward Fudo, who was smiling and nodding, then back toward Aisa, who was grinning happily. I had come to this shop many times before and didn't even know the owner's name. How Aisa was able to befriend practically anyone he met-even a, at the very least, sixty five year old man-was a mystery to me.

"That's interesting," I finally settled on saying. "I'm sure Fudo here has lots of stories he could tell you, but right now you really ought to _go out and train with your new weapons_ , don't you think?"

Aisa gulped, paled, and nodded. "Uh-huh. That sounds like a good plan." He slid down from the stool, set his tea on the counter, and grabbed the tonfa. "Bye, Fudo-san! See you later!" He waved as he left the store.

I turned back to the old man and raised my eyebrows. "He _did_ pay for those tonfa, right?"

With a beatific smile, he shook his head.

***...*.*.

"Aiden!" I called, opening the apartment door with the key Aiden hid so creatively on the door lintel. "You owe me 38 ryo!"

I heard the sound of running water, then Aiden stepped out of the bathroom, shaking drops of water from his hands. "Why do I owe you money?" He asked. "And where's Aisa?"

"Training," I replied, "with the tonfa I bought him."

"Tonfa?"

"Sticks with handles." I rolled my eyes. "About as long as your forearm."

"I know what they are." Aiden rolled his eyes right back at me. "Why did you buy Aisa tonfa?"

"I had all my genin choose weapons," I replied. "Aisa chose tonfa."

"I see," Aiden nodded.

The silence dragged on for a few moments before I shrugged, turning back toward the door. "Just wanted to let you know that you owe me," I told him. "Pay me back soon."

"Wait, you're going?" Aiden asked, something akin to disappointment coloring his voice.

"Yep," I replied, and when I turned back I caught a glimpse of the disappointment I had heard in his voice on his face before he hurriedly hid the emotion.

"You should stay," Aiden told me. "I'm making dinner, and Aisa will be back soon."

"Can't," I replied tightly. "I've got work to do."

"You're working too hard," Aiden implored. "You're always training or teaching or scheming or studying or doing missions. Don't go out and train tonight. Just relax. When was the last time you ate?"

"This morning," I answered impatiently , then protested, "I don't have _time_ to relax. There's so much work to do!"

"When's the last time you slept?" Aiden questioned.

"Last night!" I shot back triumphantly.

"When's the last time you slept more than _three hours in a row_?" He asked pointedly.

I opened my mouth, then closed it again. Aiden remained silent, and finally I muttered, "Only four days ago. I was on a mission! I've gone longer! I'm fine; I can handle it."

"I'm sure you can," Aiden sighed. "But that doesn't mean you _h_ ave to."

"So what, you want me to sit here and do nothing instead?" I snapped, irritated.

"Course not," he replied easily. "Read. Play chess. Memorize your bingo book entries if you insist, or study your books about ninjutsu, or go over your notes about the jutsu you're working on. Just... take a break when dinner is done, okay? And sleep at a reasonable time?"

I stood there for a long moment, and after several beats of uncomfortable silence I realized that I was trying to find something in his works to fight, but couldn't, because despite the fact that it kind of felt like he was smothering me, I also felt _warm_.

"You better not be making ramen for dinner," I finally acquiesced in a grumble.

"Deal," Aiden turned away, and I know it was so he could hide the grin on his face. "Salmon and rice sound good? With some clear vegetable soup, maybe? I might have some leftover sushi, too, if you get hungry before dinner is finished, which should be in about two hours, because that's when Aisa usually gets back from training or hanging out with his teammates or playing or—"

"Aiden?" I interrupted his uncharacteristic rambling.

"Yes, Cashile?"

"Shut up, will you? I'm trying to read."

"Yes, Cashile."

***...*.*.

I had shed my coat and switched into ninja shorts and a long sleeved shirt, and now I lazed on the comfortable leather couch (which sported several more blankets than the last time I'd been there), listening as Aiden finished drying and putting away the dishes more than I was reading my notes. Aisa had washed the dishes before being sent to bed, I had grudgingly wiped down the counters, and Aiden was finishing up.

"I moved Knight to D3," Aiden called to me.

"Stupid move, Aiden," I warned, making a note on my paper before sticking the pen back behind my ear. The sound of clinking dishes fell silent as Aiden clearly stopped to study the chess board.

"What do you mean?" he questioned after several moments, evidently having not found any traps.

"Bishop to G6," I answered. I listened as he moved the designated piece and smirked as he swore softly. I heard him put away the last few dishes before coming out of the kitchen, picking up my feet and plopping himself down on the couch with a groan, allowing my legs to resettle on his lap so I didn't have to move.

"What's your move?" I asked innocently, hiding a smirk behind my notebook.

He threw an arm over his eyes. "Cashile, unlike you, I cannot play chess from a board in my head or whatever you do. And I didn't bring the board with me. I forfeit."

I frowned. "There are still ways you could have gotten out of my trap," I argued.

Aiden snorted, removing his arm from his face and shooting me a brilliant smile, full of amazement and amusement and disbelief. "And clearly you thought of every single way I could have wriggled my way from your trap. Making any attempts at said wriggling fruitless."

"Mmm," I replied, not bothering to contradict him. After several minutes of silence, where the only sound was the flipping of pages and the occasional scratch of my pen, I felt his hand gently rest on my calf.

I looked up with a raised eyebrow, but he wasn't looking at me. Instead he ran a finger along the skin, and I shuddered as he went from skin to scar tissue, where I couldn't actually feel anything except the ghost sensation of pressure.

"What happened here?" Aiden asked, still running his hand along my leg where the scar was.

I swallowed. A part of me wanted to ask him to stop, and another just enjoyed the warmth of his hand on my skin. "What, you want to reminisce about how I got all my scars?" I asked snidely.

Aiden glanced up at me, eyes dark. "If you want," he shrugged, a finger tracing the outline of one of the large scars on my leg.

I'm silent to the point that I think he's resigned himself to no answer, and then the words slip from my mouth almost without my permission. I was warm, and tired, and Aiden was still here, and so I let my mouth form the word, "Dog."

"What?" Aiden asked, looking up from where he'd been thumbing over the ridge of scar tissue.

"It's from a dog. The scar. Dog bite."

I watched with interest as Aiden closed his mouth into a thin frown, his hand freezing on my leg before continuing to trace along scars. "Oh," he finally said. "I'm sorry."

"What do you have to be sorry for?" I questioned, confused. "It's not your fault."

"But I can still be sorry it occurred," Aiden explained gently.

"Ah. Right," I replied uncomfortably.

The silence stretched on until it wasn't awkward any longer, and I fell asleep on the couch to the feeling of Aiden tracing the scars on my legs.

***...*.*.

I woke in the morning to the sound of someone knocking on the door. I went to stand, but realized that Aiden's head was resting on my thigh. I unceremoniously shoved him off, wrinkling my nose in disgust at the small patch of drool now on my shorts.

"Cashile?" Aiden questioned sleepily.

"You drool in your sleep," I informed him, straightening my clothes, putting on my jacket, and walking toward the door. I casually plucked a carving knife from a drawer as I approached the door. Standing to the side, I called out, "Who is it?"

Aiden yawned from behind me, slowly standing, used to my paranoia-my perfectly reasonable safety precautions-by now.

"It's Kakashi," a voice replied.

"Tea?" Aiden mouthed as he meandered toward the kitchen.

"Ooh," I turned to him and asked in a whisper, "Do you have some of that tea I had the other day? The kind of spicy one?" I carefully peeked through the peep hole just in case whoever was outside was prepared to blind me with a bright light.

"You mean the one you broke into the apartment to drink?" Aiden asked dryly.

"Cashile?" Kakashi called, "You still there?"

"Yeah, that one," I nodded, twisting open the locks and sliding the chain off the door now that I was fairly certain it was Kakashi. "And is it really breaking in if I know where you hide your key?"

Aiden sighed, but was smiling when I glanced back. "As a matter of fact, I do have some of that left. You drank it plain, right?"

"Steeped for four minutes and thirty five seconds," I affirmed, and opened the door, knife still held loosely in hand.

"Kakashi," I greeted. "Who did I kill during the Land of Whirlpools mission when I was a genin on your team?"

He blinked. "You didn't? You killed Haku during the Land of Waves mission. Don't you remember?" He asked, sounding concerned.

"Of course I remember," I waved the knife dismissively, turning my back on him to enter the kitchen and put the utensil away. "It was a trick question to make sure you were you."

"Right," Kakashi followed behind me into the kitchen, awkwardly nodding to Aiden.

"Sir," Aiden greeted, then turned to me. "Kettle's boiling. I'm going to go wake up Aisa."

I nodded to show I heard him, then turned back to Kakashi. "Why are you here?"

"Well, you weren't at your apartment," Kakashi explained, some warm emotion in his eye. "I thought you might have spent all night training or working, and I would have had to search all the training field for you. But I figured I'd try here, first."

"As interesting as discussing your thought process is, that's not what I meant," I told Kakashi, cracking several eggs into a saucepan to scramble. "I meant _why_ are you here, not why are you _here_."

"Lady Kakage has summoned you. You have about thirty minutes until she expects you," Kakashi explained. "I still have to go get Naruto."

"Is he still moping about Sasuke?" I questioned, using a spatula to mix the eggs together.

"It seems so," Kakashi sighed. "And there's only more bad news for him-for the Leaf Village."

I glanced up sharply before slowly returning my attention to the eggs. "Do you mind getting the cream out for me?" I asked. "Top shelf of the refrigerator."

Kakashi did as I asked, handing me the container. I carefully added some to cool the eggs and stop them from overcooking. "Who died?" I asked, continuing to stir the eggs.

Kakashi's hand stuttered as he took the container back from me, and that's all the confirmation I needed. "The Toad Sage Jiraiya," he answered, not asking how I came to the conclusion that someone had died.

I frowned, still keeping my eyes on the eggs. I took them off the heat in order to slice some bread for toasting. "Didn't Naruto... train with him? And he was Tsunade's teammate."

"Yeah," Kakashi affirmed. "It... It's a loss that will pain the Leaf Village greatly."

I pressed my lips together, turning off the stove. "I'll be there in thirty minutes."

"Okay," Kakashi agreed, accepting the dismissal. "And, Cashile?" He added, already halfway out the door.

"Yeah?"

"Try to be sensitive. Naruto... this will be hard on Naruto, especially so soon after the failure with Sasuke. Just... go easy on him."

I kept my lips pressed tightly together, but finally murmured, "Of course." Kakashi seemed to sense that I was through with the conversation, and after a brief hesitation, closed the door. I locked it behind him, then returned to the kitchen and continued to make breakfast. Aiden had smoked salmon hidden away in the cupboards somewhere.

Making promises that I didn't plan to keep never bothered me before.

It certainly didn't now.

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Hi guys!

Sooo we took longer than expected for the update, but my finals are next week and life has been crazy

But we updated!

Did you like the Cashden moments?

Jiraiya is dead :((((((

Okay wish us luck on finals! And comment comment comment for inspiration!

Also check out our book Update Updates where we keep you updated on when we'll update! Ha.

If any of y'all have fan art that hasn't been posted to Fan(art)(fiction) send it to gaaralover119 so we can post it!

Okay comment!

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Hey!

Short an because I'm sick af my boyfriend has a virus and I caught it (or vice Versace but w/e). Enjoy reading!

-S

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Ja ne!

Insomniac_Lullabies


	48. Chapter Forty Seven - Lecture

I twisted the knob and pulled at the door just as someone from the other side slammed it open.

I side stepped to avoid collision with the bright blonde haired boy bounding out the door in a rush. After a moment, to make sure that no one was chasing after him, I made an entrance, scanning the room before mildly asking, "I'm guessing he didn't take the news too well?"

A somber silence followed before an older looking frog spoke. "He really loved our Jiriyah boy, he did."

After a moment, I cleared my throat, breaking the silence; I hadn't been summoned for reminiscing or grieving, after all. I could feel Kakashi giving me a pointed look and mentally gave him the middle finger before looking specifically at Tsunade for my instructions.

"I was summoned," I stated, to move things along faster.

Tsunade cleared her throat. "Yes. The Sannin- Lord Jiraiya- has fallen. He was investigating extremely important and sensitive material. Before he fell, he left us one last message. We believe the information decoded could be vital to our success in the fight against the akatsuki."

"And you brought me here to decode the message." I stated.

"With a team of intelligence shinobi, headed by Shikamaru, yes." Tsunade replied. "Meet him at code deciphering headquarters to see what he wants you to do."

"Roger that," I said, and spun on my heel to walk out the door. Once I was outside, I turned around expectantly, just _knowing_ that Kakashi wouldn't be able to resist a lecture."What is it, Kakashi?"

"I asked you to be understanding, and you agreed. Can you not empathize with other people? Or at least _pretend_ to?" Kakashi asked, clearly irritated.

I didn't respond. I didn't need to explain to him that I really _did not care_ that Jirayah was dead. Sure, it was a loss to the village, but personally? Personally, I didn't really give a shit. I had been given my orders, and I would complete them.

"Imagine," Kakashi said hesitantly, something akin to hope in his eye, "imagine if it were Aisa."

 _That_ got my attention. Of course it did; if anyone threatened my team and followed through on said threat; I would look bad.

I turned to him, eyes wide, and slowly uttered, "What?" My tone should have been enough to stop him from pursuing this line of confrontation, but he seemed to be ignoring the message.

"Imagine if Aisa died," Kakashi pressed on, voice still hesitant but growing stronger. "How would you feel? Naruto has every right to mourn."

I shook my head. "I wouldn't let Aisa die. His death would just be too troublesome."

Kakashi's eye narrowed at that. "You wouldn't let _Aisa_ die?" He repeated slowly.

"I know you're getting old for a shinobi, Kakashi, but c'mon, your hearing is just fine," I snapped back.

"If you had to choose," Kakashi continued slowly, ignoring my jibe, "Between Aisa and Kento, or Aisa and Michiko, who would you choose?"

"I assume you mean the one I won't choose will die?" I questioned. Kakashi nodded. "Well, I would save them both. But," I added when he opened his mouth to argue, "If I truly had to choose, of course I would choose Aisa."

I said it without hesitation, without guilt, without a second of indecisiveness; just as I had been taught.

"And you don't feel as though there's any favoritism going on here on this team? No... conflict of interest?" Kakashi challenged.

"Kakashi," I replied quietly, "You presented me with two choices. Aisa or one of his teammates. I chose Aisa." Kakashi went to speak, but I cut him off. "If you're trying to make me feel guilty, Kakashi, know this: I've done worse things than saving a life."

"Even at the expense of another?"

"Isn't it always?" I answered tiredly. "And besides, what does this have to do with my lack of grief for someone I never even knew?"

"My point is, if you ever had to make those decisions, ever had to lose someone you cared for—that's how Naruto and Tsunade feel right now. Imagine if you were to lose me—your sensei—"

I gave him a look and raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Cashile. Just have some empathy. At least pretend to be sympathetic. Okay?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "As eventful as my morning has been, I have three wide eyed genin to teach _and_ an academy class I need to lecture, courtesy of Tsunade," I grumbled. "Naruto isn't my responsibility."

"Right," Kakashi's shoulders slumped slightly into his normally apathetic stance. "But making the most out of Jiraiya's sacrifice _is._ So go help Shikamaru like Tsunade ordered."

"Yes, _sir_ ," I snarked, adding a flippant salute before flickering away.

Kakashi's sigh rang like music in my ears.

***...*.*.

Shikamaru handed me a scrap of paper when I appeared.

I took it, glancing at the mussed hair of the severely blushing analyst before looking back toward Shikamaru, eyebrows raised. He sighed and shook his head. "What do you make of it?" He nodded toward the paper.

I scanned through it quickly, turning it in several directions. "Looks like you'd need the cipher to break it. If the message was longer I could go about breaking it myself through trial and error, but with this short of a message... not to mention it would take me a long time to figure out what he might use as a code..."

Shikamaru sighed and nodded. "Yeah," he nodded, taking the photograph back from me. "I'll start asking if anyone close to him recognizes something from the code."

"Sounds good. You might as well start trying the most common books out as ciphers. Yknow, tourist books, bingo book, etcetera." I stretched. "Hey, Shikamaru, what would you teach a class full of academy wannabes?"

He turned back to me slowly, hands in his pockets and eyebrow raised. "Who the hell would put you in front of a class full of children?" He asked.

A smirk crossed my face, and a look of mild alarm passed over Shikamaru's. "Whatever you end up doing—" he began.

I flickered away, barely catching his last few words.

"Leave my name out of it!"

***...*.*.

I knocked on the door and looked at Iruka. He was expecting me today.

He made eye contact and continued to address the class. "We have a special guest today class," he announced. "A jonin sensei has agreed to share some of her... _expertise_ with us."

I took that as my queue and walked into the classroom, hands in pocket. I looked around at the bright and innocent faces, not tainted with the darkness of the shinobi life-yet.

I didn't bother to introduce myself. With any luck, I'd never see any of these idiots again.

"Here's a question for you all. What would you do if you saw a Jonin from another village infiltrating Konoha?"

There were many murmers among the class-girls gossiping, boys goofing around. There were a few shouts "Fight them!" And a couple snickers here and there.

I placed a hand on my hip and waited a couple seconds before rolling my eyes at their idiocy. I should have gone with my earlier tactic of just scaring the shit out of them.

"You run," a quiet voice said. The voice belonged to a sandy haired boy with large ears, not too popular from the looks of it. He was smart, but he would only go so far without friends, without people to manipulate.

"Continue." my prodding was the only approval he would get for being slightly correct.

"Well... we aren't even genin. What could we do against an intruder? A _jonin_ moreover. I would run and tell the hokage. He's the best ninja in the village, right?

I cleared my throat before answering. By now most of the class had quieted down with only a few children in the back whispering or sleeping. " _She,_ and I wouldn't say the best. But very skilled yes. Most of that is correct, however. You alert the first ninja you see, got it you dimwits? At this stage of learning you're practically useless. Alert someone who can do something about it. Capiche?"

They responded with silence.

Iruka laughed nervously. "What she's trying to say is that you all have lot to learn, and sometimes the most obvious solution-to fight an enemy head on-isn't the best solution. Okay, thank you, Kuroki. We appreciate your time today..."

"No questions?" A young girl piped up from the back of the room.

Iruka paled. I smirked.

"Qu-Questions!" Iruka stuttered. "Right! Of course, we don't want to keep Kuroki too long, and we do have our own lesson plans to complete, so let's keep it to about three questions, alright?"

Hands immediately shot into the air despite the earlier apparent indifference. I pointed in a random direction and let the children decide who it was I was choosing.

"Have you ever killed someone?" An obnoxiously loud kid asked. What a predictable, thoughtless question.

"Yup," I answered flippantly. "Next question." I pointed toward a different corner.

"When did you first kill someone?"

"When I was thirteen." I bared my teeth in the approximation of a grin. The ten and eleven year old children went quiet. I pointed once more.

"Do you regret it?" The sandy haired boy asked quietly. I regarded him for a moment. He was hoping that I did regret it, because he regretted hurting people. He wanted to know that he could be a shinobi despite this weakness, this softness that resided in him.

"There are paths other than what most take to serve Konoha as a ninja. Think about being a medic nin, or a code breaker," I told him dispassionately.

"I don't regret it for a moment."

***...*.*.

I nearly crashed into Naruto in my hurry to leave the Academy building.

He looked up, met my eyes, then looked back toward the Academy. I raised an eyebrow. "Problem?" I challenged, just waiting for his usual mindless blather to come pouring out.

Naruto opened his mouth as if to answer, then closed it, shaking his head. Hands in pockets and shoulders slumped, he slowly plodded around me.

"Naruto?" I called after him. He ground to a halt after a few more steps, then pivoted, still not saying anything. "Shikamaru might be looking for you in a bit. About the code."

He nodded. I watched him for a bit, wondering at how he could act the way he did. I would have thought Jiraiya's death would push him harder than ever to avenge his sensei, but instead Naruto was depressed into inaction. With a shrug of my shoulders I turned away.

"You know," Naruto muttered awkwardly, voice quiet and depressed. I turned back to him. "I never really said it before, but... Congratulations on becoming a sensei. That's pretty cool."

I blinked. I hadn't actually thought of that. In fact, I didn't remember anyone congratulating me over it. Was becoming the sensei of a couple idiotic brats worth congratulations? Naruto was watching me expectantly, and I realized that he expected a response. "Uh... thanks?"

He mindlessly turned away without a second thought and I stood there, observing.

"Naruto," I called out again. He didn't turn, he just stopped in his step. I thought about what Kakashi said, and despite not actually caring for Naruto, it might do me some good to follow his advice- and put myself in a good spotlight. It took nothing from me but pretending.

"We'll get those sons of bitches," I told him. He was still turned away, so I didn't bother to smile or look even vaguely sympathetic, barely refraining myself from rolling my eyes at his back. He didn't acknowledge me, so I repeated myself one more time, slightly louder. "We'll get them."

He gave a short nod before continuing his shambling walk. I have a short sigh and turned, walking in the opposite direction.

I would never be able to understand Naruto.

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Hey guys!

Sorry we didn't eat out a Christmas or New Years update :( Supes is in Germany right now so it just kinda messed with writing :/

But we got this out to you!

We have a new story called Update Updates that will keep you updated on when we're gonna update, so check that out!

Also guess who got all As! That is if you count A-s as As too... whatever, so long as I get the gpa needed to keep my scholarship I'll be happy.

(Heh guess what I got an A+ in a class where the grade all depended on one paper and I didn't read one of the books and skimmed through the other and wrote it all the night before. Procrastination ftw!)

Please comment for inspiration so we can get a couple more chapters out before break ends!

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